Celebrities doing questionable or downright controversial things for money is nothing new. Everyone remembers the laughingstock John Cena became when he became a meme after promoting China and even apologizing for calling Taiwan a country. Similarly, The Office alumnus Zach Woods is now putting Bill Burr and a handful of other comedians on blast for performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia. Other notable performers include Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Whitney Cummings, and Dave Chappelle.
The controversy with the Riyadh Comedy Festival is not only that it is being hosted by a tyrannical individual who has unfairly thrown people in prison. The country of Saudi Arabia also plainly practices plenty of things that the United States directly stands against, such as violations of human rights, not to mention the connection to 9/11, Woods argues. The comedian also brought up the ruthless killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who died back in 2018. Sarcastically, the Silicon Valley actor called out several other celebrities who performed to notably questionable audiences in the past, like Sinbad or Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean.
Pete Davidson and Bill Burr Called Out for Being Hypocritical
Naturally, fans are outraged that these comedians would do this, as even for money, this sellout act is unabashedly shameless. Many point out how Pete Davidson’s father died as a firefighter during the 9/11 terrorist attack, yet he now chooses to go perform at Saudi Arabia’s comedy festival. As one TikTok comment put it, “Crazy how Pete Davidson is going to a party hosted by the guy who helped fund the death of Pete’s dad.” As for the rest, many have shared how they’re not too surprised, considering the alleged lack of morals of the other comedians, but one who does stand out is Bill Burr.
“Was so disappointed to see Burr doing this. Seems especially hypocritical considering how vocal he has been lately,” remarks a Redditor. “Really disappointed in Bill Burr, the rest i’m not surprised by,” chimes in another. People really loved Burr for always standing up against political figures like Elon Musk or Donald Trump; he was even labeled the “Voice of the People” by GQ back in March. But now with his attendance in Saudi Arabia, fans find it hard to believe if Bill Burr is ‘one of the good ones’ anymore.
Of course, plenty more fans of the Riyadh Comedy Festival performers shared their sad disappointment that their favorite would sell out to an “oppressive regime.” On the other hand, many praised Zach Woods for using his personal platform to speak out on this topic and call out those failing to take a stand for human rights. The comedy festival will go from September 26 to October 9. That said, it’ll be interesting to see if anyone quits at the last minute if fans collectively decide to publicly put the comedians on blast.
