On Friday, Netflix quietly dropped Dave Chappelle's newest comedy special, Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable… and in it, he talked about his controversial performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
In the special, the comedian said that he has no problem taking money from the country because he said, "it’s easier to talk in Saudi Arabia for me than it is in America," and said that he was almost canceled because he joked about trans people. But, he said, "I’ve gotta tell you something — transgender jokes went over very well in Saudi Arabia."
Chappelle has a history of making anti-trans remarks in all of his most recent standup specials from 2019 to 2022. He's been called out by other comedians for these transphobic jokes — yet has still gone on to win awards and get invited to perform on significant stages. It was a shock to most comedy fans when it was announced that Chappelle, along with a host of other prominent comedians, would perform in Saudi Arabia at a new comedy festival.
Many in the comedy world (and human rights groups) denounced Riyadh Comedy Festival for its ties to a government known for strict policies and widespread civil and political violations, including the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi Minister of Entertainment Turki Al-Sheikh’s noted torture of his critics. Not to mention, same-sex activity is illegal and punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. Comedians called out the festival and the headliners who agreed to perform, including Chapelle, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, and Hannibal Buress, among others.
In his special, Chappelle also addressed Charlie Kirk's assassination, sharing that he was "shook" because after news outlets reported, but then later walked back, claims that there were "pro-transgender" phrases on the bullets that killed him, "I was at home like, ‘Oh no! I’m dead as fried chicken,'" he said.
Nonetheless, Chappelle boasted about taking money from the Saudi government, saying in his special, "I’ll take money from Saudi Arabia any day just so I can say no over here. It feels good to be free." He continued, "And I know that the people in Saudi Arabia can’t say all the things that I was allowed to say. But a deal’s a deal, and the king said that I could say these things. So I looked at it like I was on a diplomatic mission: I’ve gotta bring pussy jokes to the Middle East.”
But the comedian said he doesn't "feel guilty at all" and had a few choice words for those who've spoken out against the festival: "These motherfuckers act like because I did a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia I somehow betrayed my principles… They said, ‘Well, Saudi Arabia killed a journalist,’ and rest in peace, Jamal Khashoggi. I’m sorry that he got murdered in such a heinous fashion. And also, look, bro, Israel’s killed 240 journalists in the last three months, so I didn’t know y’all were still counting.”
