There were sex jokes, wife jokes — even trans jokes.
In Riyadh.
“It’s really unusual to see this kind of comedy here in Saudi Arabia,” said Sara, an ex-pat still reeling from watching Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr light up the stage at the first-ever Riyadh Comedy Festival.
“The response was amazing,” she said. “I’ve never seen such enthusiasm.”
For a country where public dancing was once banned and women driving made headlines, the sight of thousands roaring with laughter at punchlines about marriage, sex and gender felt nothing short of revolutionary.
But outside the kingdom? The laughter has a much sharper edge.
The joke heard round the world
Big-name comedians like Jimmy Carr, Jack Whitehall, Kevin Hart, Russell Peters and Omid Djalili have come under fire from fellow comics and human rights advocates for performing in a country still criticised for jailing dissidents and executing people for same-sex relationships.
US comic Jessica Kirson, one of the few women on the line-up, even apologised for joining the festival, promising to donate her fee to a human rights charity.
Human Rights Watch wasn’t laughing either. It called the event a “whitewash” of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing abuses — timed, notably, around the seventh anniversary of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, an atrocity linked by US intelligence to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
‘I can’t believe people were saying this stuff’
Inside the festival, fans were stunned by what they heard.
Zain, another attendee (not his real name), told us Burr’s opening act included a ten-minute segment about sex, while Djalili riffed on niqabs, women driving, and Riyadh’s inflated egos.
“I can’t believe people were saying this stuff in Saudi,” he said. “Many here haven’t seen a stand-up show in their lives — let alone one this explicit. But people loved it. The Saudi women in front of me were laughing their heads off.”
Sara added that Chappelle’s set featured jokes about trans people — something she called “very haram”.
Money talks, louder than punchlines
Not everyone is convinced this is progress.
“This isn’t about free speech; it’s about big cheques,” says LA comic Tim Dillon, who claimed he was offered $375,000 to perform before being dropped for joking about it. “They’re paying me enough money to look the other way.”
Other stars reportedly pocketed millions for their appearances. “No one goes into comedy for the paycheque,” said British comedian Rosie Holt, “but this is next-level selling out.”
A laughing matter, or a PR exercise?
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda has poured billions into sports, gaming, and entertainment to rebrand the oil-rich state as a modern leisure hub. It now owns Newcastle United, LIV Golf, and a major stake in EA Games. The Riyadh Comedy Festival is just the latest jewel in its cultural crown.
“People here are excited,” said Sara. “Saudi Arabia is trying to become an entertainment centre. There’s a lot of energy, especially among young Saudis.”
And even the comedians aren’t completely cynical.
Bill Burr called his Saudi gig “one of the top three experiences” of his career. “You could feel the audience wanted it,” he said on his podcast. “They want to see real stand-up.”
The last laugh
For all the talk about censorship, most performers avoided jokes about the royal family or politics.
Still, as Zain put it, “Every Saudi who attends a show like this will learn something. You had gay jokes, trans jokes, sex jokes — they’re being really open about everything, aside from the government.”
Maybe that’s the biggest punchline of all.
Source: BBC