{"id":294884,"date":"2025-10-11T14:41:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T14:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/294884\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T14:41:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T14:41:13","slug":"human-rights-group-declines-aziz-ansaris-saudi-comedy-donation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/294884\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Group Declines Aziz Ansari\u2019s Saudi Comedy Donation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human Rights Watch has said comedian Aziz Ansari\u2019s performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia was no laughing matter\u2014and has refused his proposed donation.<\/p>\n

The top international rights organization has stated that it \u201ccannot accept\u201d money from Ansari or any of the other \u201cover 50 global stand-up legends\u201d who appeared on stage in the Middle Eastern kingdom. <\/p>\n

Instead, the organization has called on the performers to use their platforms to petition Saudi authorities to free detained dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists imprisoned in the country. <\/p>\n

\"JIMMYAziz Ansari on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d on Monday, Oct. 6. The comedy festival was an important event that could help liberalize Saudi Arabia, he said. Randy Holmes\/Disney via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cAziz Ansari and other comedians have generously offered to donate part of their performance fees to rights groups like Human Rights Watch, but while we cannot accept, it is not too late for them to call for the release of detained Saudi activists,\u201d said Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n

Ansari, who appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, told the host that he \u201cshares the concerns\u201d of those who criticized his decision to accept the Riyadh Comedy Festival\u2019s invitation to perform at the event. However, he said he considered the festival to be an important cultural exchange that could help liberalize the country. <\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the fee should go to causes that support free press and human rights,\u201d Ansari said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Daily Beast has contacted Ansari for comment.<\/p>\n

While Human Rights Watch has declined the offer, other groups have accepted similar donations. Comedian Jessica Kirson, who has faced significant backlash for performing at the Saudi event, has donated<\/a> her entire fee to the Human Rights Campaign. <\/p>\n

Kirson explained that while she \u201cdeeply regrets\u201d her participation, she believed that her appearance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival would \u201chelp LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia feel seen and valued.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful that I was able to do precisely that,\u201d Kirson said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cTo my knowledge, I am the first openly gay comic to talk about it on stage in Saudi Arabia.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cI received messages from attendees sharing how much it meant to them to participate in a gay-affirming event,\u201d she continued. \u201cAt the same time, I deeply regret participating under the auspices of the Saudi government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"THEJessica Kirson on \u201cThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon\u201d on Nov. 21, 2019. She says she regrets performing in a festival organized by the Saudi government. NBC\/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The Daily Beast has contacted the Human Rights Campaign for comment.<\/p>\n

Ansari and Kirson are just two of the dozens of top comedians from around the world who have come under fire for performing in one of the most repressive nations on Earth. <\/p>\n

Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Louis C.K., Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, Jimmy Carr, Jack Whitehall, Chris Tucker, and many others also appeared on the lineup. <\/p>\n

Tim Dillon, who appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience before the festival, said that the $375,000 appearance fee he had secured was sufficient to \u201cwatch a be-handing,\u201d although it was far less than the $1.6 million he said other performers would receive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe in ignoring the screams. I will sleep so soundly. I will sleep through the screams,\u201d Dillon said. He was subsequently fired from the festival. <\/p>\n

\"ComedianComedian Tim Dillon\u2019s comments about the lucrative Saudi comedy festival in which he was due to take part ultimately got him fired. Michael S. Schwartz\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

The oil-rich Middle Eastern power player ruled over by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is on a drive to rebuild its international image. <\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA Men\u2019s World Cup and has partnered with the International Olympic Committee to host the first Olympic Esports Games in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Human Rights Watch has said comedian Aziz Ansari\u2019s performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia was…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":294885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[114374,1144,171,147467,150760,271,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-294884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-aziz-ansari","9":"tag-comedy","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-human-rights-watch","12":"tag-human-rights-campaign","13":"tag-saudi-arabia","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115356060050368511","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}