Dave Chappelle made free speech in America the punchline over the weekend while performing in Saudi Arabia, a country known for its controversial human rights record.
The comedian — in a set before 6,000 people at the Riyadh Comedy Festival on Saturday — reportedly began the joke by declaring that those in the U.S. who speak about Charlie Kirk will “get canceled,” a nod to the flood of people who faced consequences following the right-wing activist’s assassination.
“I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out,” said Chappelle, who has faced backlash of his own for anti-trans jokes in recent years.
He later went on, “It’s easier to talk here than it is in America.”
Chappelle is one of a number of comedians facing backlash from fellow comics and fans alike for taking part in the festival, which is occurring at the same time as the seventh anniversary of the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
