Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Whitney Cummings, Bill Burr and other popular U.S. stand-up stars accepted large fees to fly to Saudi Arabia and make people laugh at the first Riyadh Comedy Festival. The organizers claimed it was the largest comedy festival in the world, which it may well have been with over 50 international comedians performing stand-up, sketch, and improv.
The Saudi government paid for the event as a part of an effort to increase investment in the local economy and to improve their global image, which is, as you probably know, less than sterling. Other performers such as Marc Maron (funny) and David Cross (bitter asshole) attacked their colleagues for accepting “dirty money,” performing for ‘bad people”—you know, like anyone who performed at President Trump’s inaugural balls—and putting “a fun face on their [Saudi Arabia’s] crimes against humanity.”
Then there is the perceived hypocrisy, since many of the comedians who attended the festival have complained in the past about risking being “cancelled” for touching on unpopular topics in their routines. A Saudi is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for tweeting jokes about the Saudi government. The comics participating in the festival had to agree to certain restrictions on their content as part of their 7 figure contracts.
Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz of the Day is…
Did the comedians do anything unethical by appearing at the festival?
I have some Facebook friends who posted that they were disappointed in Bill Burr, for example—they like him because he likes insulting President Trump. Jimmy Kimmel criticized the attending comics as well, probably because he wasn’t invited, not being funny, after all.
My answer, and I have written here on similar controversies, is 1) there is no such thing a “dirty money,” 2) performers perform, and who is in the audience shouldn’t matter to them, and 3) if a performer wants to limit himself or herself by treating everything as a political statement, that’s a valid choice, but simply performing for any group or sponsor doesn’t constitute an endorsement.
I’m sure the latter reflects my legal ethics: lawyers can, do and should take fees from anyone if the cause is just. Making people laugh and bring the world together through the performing arts is a just cause.
Ethics Alarms 
If they are consistently willing to work for anyone who pays them I have no problem with it. If they have a pattern of being selective, then performing for the Saudis has the appearance of an endorsement, selling out for money, or using politics as an excuse when the pay is insufficient. I will still find them funny (or not!) regardless, but some people are hypocrites.
Similarly, the people who weren’t invited at all and complain about the ones who went may just be an example of sour grapes.
“Jimmy Kimmel criticized the attending comics as well, probably because he wasn’t invited, not being funny, after all.”
While Kimmel (IMO) isn’t funny, that quip sure the hell was!
PWS
The book I’m reading postulated that the loss of the relationships forged during WWII after the death of FDR contributed to the Cold War. The author argues that keeping the Soviets engaged might have eventually moderated them.
I don’t know if I agree with that but there is something to be said for not shutting the Saudis out completely.
And, again, even sweet Melanie Wilkes took Belle Watkins’ money for The Cause.
Belle Watling
Yes, that. I hate spellcheck.
Argh! I meant Whatley’s, not Watkins’.
Ahem…Whatling. Time for bed.
Is it unethical as an artist to perform in a particular country? I think this question has similarities to whether it is unethical to do go on vacation in a particular country, or to do trade with a particular country.
The USA is not at war with Saudi Arabia. There are no trade restrictions and embargos between USA and Saudi Arabia. So there are no legal reasons to skip Saudi Arabia.
I tend to regard virtue signaling as unethical. People who virtue signal do this as a PR effort to elevate their moral status, as it usually does not improve anybody else’s life.
I would appreciate it however if the comedian dare to engage in some edgy humor about things that are widely accepted here in the USA but are cultural sensitive in Saudi Arabia, and normally get censored; I am thinking about topics like gender relationships and sexuality. Something that gets the religious police really worked up…..
(As an aside, I cannot wait to see Queers for Palestine organize a gay pride parade in Gaza….but I am digressing here…)