“One reporter was killed by the government – unfortunate, but not a fucking hill that I’m gonna die on,” Jim Jefferies said on Theo Von’s podcast in August, arguing it is for the greater good that “freedom-of-speech machines” such as himself bestow their “edgy” material on the kingdom and its subjects. (Since making the comments, Jefferies has since disappeared from the festival’s lineup; his representatives did not respond to inquiries about this.)
lol
How high is that number? According to Dillon, pretty high: in the same podcast that got him fired, he said the organizers offered him $375,000 and claimed that some comedians were offered millions. Gillis did not reveal how much the organizers offered him, but he did say that when he initially refused, they “doubled the bag”. Tough news for Dillon, who elsewhere claimed he asked for $500,000 but had to settle for less.
[Nimesh Patel] suggested that he could make up for the loss by performing “40 shows … here in the perfectly clean, moral, above-everyone-else United States of America.”
Would be funny if any of these comedians accepted but did a shit job on purpose to get booed off stage, then just explained that stunt as “giving their money’s worth”
Can’t believe bill burr went. Turns out all of his billionaire critics were just meaningless
Can absolutely believe Chapelle went.
He’s become more Rick James than Rick James.
I would have been shocked if he hadn’t.
They drove a dumptruck of money to his door, he’s not made of stone.
But you have to wonder if these guys are just grabbing the silverware before political satire is banned by zee Republicans.
Everyone knows now he can be bought and swayed easily by money, since money talks.
Fuck I miss Carlin
Better he doesn’t have to see what the world has become. His internal disappointed idealist’s heart would be thoroughly broken. I know mine has been.
Jim Jefferies disappeared from the Riyadh festival lineup after he said on Theo Von’s podcast: ‘One reporter was killed by the [Saudi] government – unfortunate, but not a fucking hill that I’m gonna die on.’
What a fucking loser. He threw his soul away AND lost the payday. Lose-lose fucking loser.
The rest is even more cringy
“arguing it is for the greater good that “freedom-of-speech machines” such as himself bestow their “edgy” material on the kingdom and its subjects.”
It is one thing to sell your soul for money (or try anyways lol) but it is an entirely another level of loser quality to pretend like you are fighting for freedom while doing it.
chapelles reason was pretty obvious, hes a transphobe, that was mad when he cant say transphobic jokes, and SA allows him to be transphobic as much as he wants.
What I find most weird about him choosing to die on that hill is it wasn’t even a good transphobic joke.
Literally just hurr durr she has a dick.
My thought about the whole thing was that if someone went there and, in spite of the agreement they signed, teed off on the Saudis and whatever else they were forbidden from discussing, I’d have had respect. Was honestly hoping that’s what Burr was intending to do. I’d have donated to the GoFundMe for them to fight the inevitable lawsuit from the Saudis.
Obviously didn’t happen. We live in a difficult world, and when presented with the choice between fighting (hard) and rolling over (easy), people take the obvious choice. I don’t know if I’m doing it differently.
Are these sets even recorded and able to be viewed somewhere, or were they essentially private? If they’re private, I dunno, I get it.
I don’t think the consequences of that would be a lawsuit. I think they’d go missing and would only be “found” as a mutilated corpse to send a message to anyone else who might have similar ideas. Or, if they are feeling bold enough, they might even do it officially.
Yeah, as brazen as they are, I don’t think they’re murdering American citizens for breach of contract. Regardless of what they said, it would be an incredibly hostile act towards the US and would lead to sanctions at best.
Wasn’t that journalist an American citizen?
And I question whether it would even lead to real problems with the current admin or if he’d just call it a good idea on social media and applaud them for dealing with someone for saying such nasty things about them. And unleash riot forces on protestors (or just use it as an excuse to try to ramp things up more).
I wouldn’t get so annoyed if they just took the easy path and went along with it. My only reaction would be to perhaps not watch their shows. But taking the easy path while pretending like it is actually virtuous… It just feels very slimy… Now I feel like making fun of this person every time I hear his name.
Comedians understanding that they’re less significant of a form of free speech to society than a free and independent press is basically impossible for some reason.
Will people criticizing them stop to play all EA games that are owned now by Saudi Arabia?
I haven’t bought an EA game since Mass Effect 3 so this a moot point for me.
Dragon Age Inquisition for me.
I have not bought one since fifa 08
It’s a bit weird to me how hyperfocused gamers are on Saudi Arabia. No, they do not own EA, it’s a joint venture between two other US investment firms;
Silver Lake Partners: A private equity firm focused on technology and media investments. Silver Lake is also part of the new Oracle-led joint venture set to take on management of TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Affinity Partners: Led by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the firm is a participant in the buyout.
Why not focus on weirdly rich Trump’s son-in-law? Knowing it’s family, the thought of Trump family owning EA sounds worse than Saudi Arabia fund.
They’re all such nice people it’s hard to know who to boycott them over the most.
the thought of Trump family owning EA sounds worse than Saudi Arabia fund.
last time I checked Trump wasn’t cutting off hands.
Just burning down houses and dragging children out of beds.
Do you KNOW what your country does to death row prisoners??? Do you know you often have the highest incarceration rate in the world??? And that’s just the old shit that everyone already accepts, there is a LOT of REALLY BAD SHIT going down in your country’s name right now; you got no place to be throwing stones from.
Do you KNOW what your country does to death row prisoners??? ; you got no place to be throwing stones from.
yeah I do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Uruguay
Capital punishment in Uruguay was abolished from the legal system in 1907 by Law N° 3238, passed during the government of president Claudio Williman, and later removed from the constitutional system in 1918. The death penalty had been expressly established by Uruguayan Constitution of 1830.
fucking nothing
you were the one who referenced Trump.
So? People are mad at EA being sold, among others, to saudi arabia. Who cut off hands for theft.
EA has been dogshit for decades now anyway.
Not sure why you had to try to bring me and my country into it, but I don’t buy EA games, I don’t go to the US, I don’t go to Saudi Arabia.
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Extremely disgusting. I already found most of these people uncool and unfunny but I thought Bill Burr was at least alright (still didn’t think he was funny, but he at least seemed to have sane political views - guess not). The only way any of them can make this a respectable choice is if they’re doing it Trojan Horse style, and they’re planning to tell a bunch of jokes shitting on Saudi Arabia and calling them out for their infinity of evil acts. Not getting my hopes up for that, though.
The Guardian remains respectable and has not pulled punches in this article at least.
We really got the worst era of comedy. Bunch of court jesters dancing for a king while the city burns
American comedy is become irredeemably lame. Though Jimmy Carr is on the list there too but at least him being a spineless whore is kinda his schtick
There are definitely exceptions. All of the comics mentioned here are people who peaked a decade or more ago, and most of them are extremely out of touch. There are a lot of more contemporary comics who are doing a great job. I don’t see Josh Johnson or Ashley Gavin or Gianmarco Soresi or like the people on Dropout showing up to something like this. There’s a whole generation of great comics, a lot of them coming out of UCB, who are funnier, wittier, and wiser than any of these clowns.
They were funded by these large groups and that isn’t talked about enough. It wasn’t just SA blood money they chased. They took it from hertiage foudation and other conservative groups. Most probably didn’t even realize they were doing it. They’d just get booked through agents. It just happened that these agents were working with groups who probably paid for personality profiles of the lamest comedians who could benefit their cause if they were actually popular.
I’d like to hear if Carr has any additional reasoning than just money.
So far he’s not made a public statement but knowing his shows are mostly people heckling him and him responding I can’t wait to see him called out
These losers hardly represent all of comedy.
I think they have. They’re the highest paid and most well known. That’s what defines an era unfortunately. It’s what defines status quo
What’s popular and “well known” is rarely, if ever, innovative. Established comics are always the most boring and hacky of their time. They may have been fresh and innovative once, but once they’re at the top, they just become tired shells of what they once were. The actual trend setters are the up-and-comers. That’s who define the era.
I don’t understand how being rich can make someone such a whore ― David Cross
https://officialdavidcross.com/blogs/press/my-thoughts-on-the-riyadh-comedy-festival
It’s actually pretty easy to explain why rich people are whores.
The reason they’re rich is that they care so much about money. If they didn’t care about money, then at some point, they’d have enough money, and after that, they won’t be so interested in getting more money. Those people wouldn’t become rich.
Yes, there are exceptions. Some comedians just want to become famous, or want to go down in history as the best comedian. But most of them probably want to become rich and famous.
But what does “rich” mean? It’s not a specific amount of money. It’s that you’re comparing yourself to other people, and saying that you have more money than them. Donald Trump was so obsessed with this that he committed fraud to lie about his wealth. And basically all rich people have the same mindset to some degree.
If your goal is to be rich, then no amount of money is enough, and you’ll do anything if people pay you enough.
The buddha says that the more you have the more you want
Sometimes I forget what a cheatcode for satisfaction being raised Buddhist was
Always loved this guy.
Yes! Very refreshing he had the smart takes after 911 flooded us with jingoistic hypocrisy and ever since.
David has bee speaking the truth since Mr. Show. What a legend.
Who is the comedian looking like the Corinthian in the thumbnail?
Pete Davidson, whose popularity with people remains a mystery to me.
Oh. He got popular because Lorne Michael likes him. I think Lorne just enjoyed the fact his dad died during 9/11 so people had to like him or else they weren’t patriotic. I have no clue how he pulls the girls he pulls though.
Pete Davidson also nice show reference
Ghostbusters 2, right?
The sandman show
Super disappointed in Burr.
Unsubscribed.
I’ve been struggling to get a read on Burr since day one. He’s always seemed to want it both ways. I’m glad he has decided to remove all ambiguity.
"…He did not address the criticism directly, but he did suggest he was happy to forget 9/11 for the right price: “I just know I get the routing, and then I see the number, and I go, ‘I’ll go.’” "
Apparently $375,000 is enough for Pete Davidson to piss on his fathers memory
I guess for most people it would be. Certainly I’d be like “sorry dad but I can buy a house an have my future be much more secure” if my kid did the same I’d like to think I’d understand as well…but this is for normal people. To these very well known and well off comedians is 375k that much? It’s like the equivalent of me getting like 5k which I’m not sure I would betray my morals for. Having said that nobody’s offering me 5k to!
Yeah, that makes sense, except that Pete Davidson is a millionaire who owns a house on Staten Island. He lives in a loft in Brooklyn that costs 30k/month
Well, that’s why he needs the money! 😂
You gotta support that lifestyle that you’re used to.
So true. I’m laughing, but dying inside. It’s so gross to see that amount of money just be wasted. There’s no reasons other than status and you want to be gaudy.
Yeah, but that’s like 10 months of rent!
There’s no way I’d go to Saudi Arabia for $5k.
He’s now working for his parent’s murderer.
It pays well…well it pays.
The lineup features Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Aziz Ansari and Jo Koy, among many others who are all taking their fees directly from the Saudi government.
Burr being on that list surprises me, but it said he’s also been to UAE. Davidson is pissing on his father’s grave.
They have also taken flak from their peers. “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,” said Marc Maron in a standup clip posted on his Facebook.
Exactly.
Greedy fucks, all of them.
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Dave Chappelle, Louie CK, and Aziz Ansari were all on the list of comedians.
Cancelling isn’t really a thing.
Well, it is a thing but it’s also an integral part of being human rather than a “culture” that’s somehow new. The difference is that it’s a power wielded by the people now rather than tastemakers putting people on a blacklist.
Another thing that’s happening with people that are “cancelled” is that they immediately get offered to join a group of “cancelled” public figures who bond over being disgusting pariahs and rebuild their careers by grifting to the right. Andrew Callaghan of channel 5 news (also All Gas No Brakes) talks about getting a job offer from InfoWars just a week after the sexual assault allegations against him went public. They anticipated he would respond by rebranding as “anti cancel culture” like so many others rather than admit fault and make a genuine effort to improve.
For those unaware of what happened with Andrew Callaghan, he had a habit of getting drunk and then pressuring/coercing women into having sex. His response was not perfect IMO, but he did confess that he had a problem and sobered up, which is more than can be said of most “victims of cancel culture.”
It never was. It was always a juvenile response to criticism.
Out of all of the comedians asked only TWO had enough integrity to turn the offer down.
Who?
Shane Gillis and Stavros Halkias were the only two that turned it down as far as I know.
Mike Birbiglia apparently turned it down, but didn’t make a big deal out of it.
There’s no way that Nate Bargatze and John Mulaney didn’t get offers. I have to assume they turned it down based on the fact they didn’t go.
Do you know if they turned it down for moral or ethical reasons or if they only turned it down because they already had a schedule conflict?
I can’t find it now but FWIW I just saw a video earlier today where Shane Gillis was dicsussing this. His reaction (at least in retrospect) was “You mean the 9/11 guys? No thank you”.
Well I guess I don’t know for sure but based on their general reactions to other people doing the show it sure seems like they turned it down for moral or ethical reasons.
I dunno if he turned it down or just blasted people about it but Zach Woods had a great video denouncing this.
I’m guessing he was just one of many other comedians that were blasting the others about it. I saw one list, I don’t know how comprehensive it is, but that’s what I’m going off of. It listed all the comedians on the bill and mentioned the two that turned it down.
Guess everyone has a price after all…. I hope they sleep well on their millions now.
that price is less than 1mil apparently, but these comedian are hoping for future comedian gigs which will pay more by MSB
Don’t make celebrity performers your idols, folks. They’re mostly psychologically damaged, amoral, backstabbing, money grubbing narcissists.
People: Billionaires are the problem
Also people: OMG Taylor Swift’s new album just dropped! Let’s go buy 3 different versions of it
You don’t get it, she’s a good billionaire because she’s a girl and owns her music. Who cares that she takes a private jet flight for what could be an hour long drive - she could never fly economy due her popularity!
I don’t disagree with you, but this is isn’t exactly “idol” level expectations, either. “Not selling out to horrific regimes” is basic decency I’d expect of everyone, not just those I look up to. Most of the names I see here make sense, but there are a few I expected to be better than this.
Especially comedians… it’s a defense mechanism.
Comedians are probably the most disingenuous ones too, as idols. thier job is to Joke, and you know personally they are either what they joke about(they become the jokes themselves this default for right winger comedians they become thier own jokes, or doing the opposite of what they are joking.
‘They’re paying me enough to look the other way’
That is at least an honest approach instead of “We’ll change things over there with our comedy”.
Just stfu next time it’s about politics (hint: they won’t).
The only guy that is surprising for me is Bill Burr. Not exactly financially hanging on by a thread but still selling out like that.
Same, very surprised by Bill Burr and that it wasn’t a bit for him to tell the Saudis some hard truths either.
Instead, he gives us a weak-ass “they are the same as us” response because they have the same crappy fast-food…
It’s always about the money for these pricks.
Don’t fool yourselves into thinking entertainers are your friends. They’re not.
Mr. Rogers weeps.
