Marc Maron Joins Critics of Riyadh Comedy Fest: ‘From the Folks That Brought You 9/11’
As we speak, the Riyadh Comedy Festival is underway, bringing some of the biggest names in comedy to Saudi Arabia. The agreement to perform at the festival has permanently damaged the reputations of the comedians who traded any claims of integrity for a very fat paycheck from a regime known for murdering journalists and imprisoning women’s rights activists.
The very principled comedians Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Jo Koy, Bobby Lee, Jeff Ross, Andrew Santino, Tom Segura and Chris Tucker all agreed to perform in the country for the multi-day festival.
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This hasn’t been ignored by other comedians in the industry. Shane Gillis and Zach Woods both have already taken shots at their morally-weak, money-hungry peers. They were joined by long-time shit-talker Marc Maron, who dedicated some of his recent stand-up set to his colleagues.
“I mean, how do you even promote that?” Maron questioned. “‘From the folks that brought you 9/11. Two weeks of laughter in the desert, don’t miss it!’ I mean, the same guy that’s gonna pay them is the same guy that paid that guy to bone-saw Jamal Khashoggi and put him in a fucking suitcase. But don’t let that stop the yucks, it’s gonna be a good time!”
It’s wild to see comedians reveal which lines they will and won’t cross during a period of such fraught political divides. Bill Burr rails against billionaires but will gladly accept money from the Saudi ones. Pete Davidson hasn’t stopped talking about 9/11 his entire comedic career, but gladly accepted money from the nation known to be directly involved in the terror attacks. It’s surprising that Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle would accept the round trip flights, but maybe their loyal fans have a higher threshold for disappointment.
Maron did admit that he wasn’t even given the chance to deny Saudi Arabia’s deep pockets, because the WTF podcast host wasn’t invited to perform. “Full disclosure: I was not asked to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, so it’s kind of easy for me to take the high road on this one,” Maron said. “Easy to maintain your integrity when no one’s offering to buy it out.”
In a previous podcast appearance, Maron added that it was “the bloodiest money you could take.”
“Does history not matter at all?” he asked.
