Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka has revealed why she turned down a gig at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival after several stars agreed to perform despite backlash due to the country’s controversial human rights record.
Okatsuka took to social media on Friday to share screenshots of an offer she received in July that outlined “content restrictions” for the festival.
The alleged stipulation involved not performing material “that may be considered to degrade, defame, or bring into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, embarrassment, or ridicule” Saudi Arabia, the Saudi royal family and any “religion, religious tradition, religious figure, or religious practice.”
“The money is coming straight from the Crown Prince, who actively executes journalists, ppl with nonlethal drug offenses, bloggers, etc without due process,” wrote Okatsuka of the festival that Human Rights Watch warned was an attempt to whitewash the Saudi government’s “serious rights abuses.”
Okatsuka continued, “A lot of the ‘you can’t say anything anymore!’ Comedians are doing the festival 😂 they had to adhere to censorship rules about the types of jokes they can make.”
