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Tim Dillon fired from Riyadh Comedy Festival over ‘slaves’ jokes, loses $375,000 payday; ‘I was defending them’
Tim Dillon claims he was removed from the Riyadh Comedy Festival due to his jokes about forced labor in Saudi Arabia.
Tim Dillon, an American stand-up comedian, claims that he has been removed from the Riyadh Comedy Festival bill over his comments against Saudi Arabia's purported use of forced labor.
In the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Dillon was one of many notable American comedians scheduled to play at what sponsors have boasted will be the “world's largest comedy festival,” which begins on Friday.
Other well-known artists scheduled to participate include Dave Chapelle, Kevin Hart, and Bill Burr.
‘They didn’t like that’, says Tim Dillon
On September 20, the comedian claimed in an episode of his podcast, The Tim Dillon Show, that he had been “fired” from the event due to jokes he had previously made about the alleged usage of forced labor in the Saudi Arabia.
“They heard what you said about them having slaves. They didn't like that,” Dillon recalled what his manager told him in a prior exchange.
According to the California comedian, he said so in a “funny” manner, but they still “fired me”. “I certainly wasn't gonna show up in your country and insult the people that are paying me the money.”
On his podcast, Dillon mentioned that the comments about slavery were a miscommunication with his Saudi hosts, stating, “I was defending them for having slaves. I literally said, ‘Slaves are hard workers and for the most part agreeable.’ But they didn’t like that.”
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Tim Dillon reportedly paid $375,000 for Riyadh festival performance
In an earlier podcast episode that aired on August 30, Dillon made numerous jokes about alleged enslavement in Saudi Arabia and his acceptance of a rumored $375,000 payment for his performance at the Riyadh event.
Dillon mentioned Saudi President Mohammed Bin Salman on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast two weeks ago, saying that “Supposedly, MBS is a fan of mine.”
The comedy festival will be the most recent in a series of significant cultural and athletic events in Saudi Arabia, which opponents claim are part of a deliberate attempt to divert attention away from the kingdom's human rights problems.
The establishment of LIV Golf in 2021, a golf league that attracted seasoned pros from the renowned PGA Tour in return for extremely lucrative contracts, was one of the most well-known examples.
