A few high -profile names of humor, including Montrealeler Sugar Sammy, were criticized for several days for participating in the comedy festival in ER -ryad in Saudi Arabia. These comedians who praise the freedom of expression of opinions are accused of “selling their soul” for a large wage in the country where this right is very suppressed. How to explain their decision, then?
“Since the freedom of expression threatens in America, I believe that I have to diversify my audience … Saudi Arabia and Dubai, I come!”, Sugar Sammy published on Instagram, ten days ago.
The comedy comedy festival (comedy festival on Er -iad), which the organizers represent as the “largest festival of humor in the world”, gave everything for his first edition, which is held from September 26 to October 9.
Montreal comedian will share the Saudi scene with large American names in industry: Louis K.K., Dave Chappel, Pete Davidson, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari and Hannibal Bress.
No matter how popular and talented, artists who agreed to take part in this event were criticized for several days.
The festival of humor is highly political. This is part of the “Visual 2030” plan of the Saudi Arabian government, which, in particular, talks about sports, entertainment and culture to attract tourism and diversify the kingdom’s economy, outside oil.
The decision of the comedians causes discontent.
“Sugar Sammy, who spends his time of morality, will perform on October 6 in Er -iad, Saudi Arabia, a country whose manager, the manager, has no morality”, Writing Sophie Durcher In a column published on Tuesday in Montreal magazineField
Hypocrisy
The committees are noticeably accused of “hypocrisy” before the regime, which forcibly suppresses the freedom of expression of opinions that are the first to apologize.
According to the human right clock, the comedy festival in Er -ryad will be a way to distract the attention of “systematic human rights violations”, which the Saudi government provides.
The organization calls for the comedy calls to use this platform in order to demand from the authorities that they release “dissidents, journalists and human rights activists, arbitrarily detained.”
Recall that the festival takes place seven years after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashogi was commanded on October 2, 2018, and a few months after the performance of the journalist, Turkish Al-Jasser, known for condemning corruption in the royal family of Saudi Arabia.
Big tablets for little freedom
Why do you want to participate in such an event?
“I do this because they pay me a large amount of money. They pay me enough to close your eyes to certain things, ”said the American comedian Tim Dillon in his podcast on August 30.
According to him, he would have been offered almost 523,000 Canadian dollars for his show. Other artists will receive up to 2.2 million per release.
“The Saudis bought humor,” Tim Dillon said before adding: “Did I agree with the policy of Saudi Arabia regarding the freedom of expression of opinions? Of course not. I think about my financial well -being, first of all! “
But now on September 20, Tim Dillon announced that his show was canceled by the organizers of the festival. The authorities said that they were “unhappy” with his jokes about the human rights position in Saudi Arabia.
The American comedian Atsuko Okatsuk, who refused the proposal of Saudi Arabia, shared in the topics a few days ago the screen of “censorship rules”, imposed by a festival, on which “many comedians who can no longer say that, agreed to add up, it joked.
There you can read that participants are forbidden to criticize the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the royal family of Saudi Arabia or approach any religious subject.
