Louis C.K. on Friday defended his decision to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, which has a notoriously poor human rights record, amid backlash from fans.
“People have been playing Saudi Arabia for years,” C.K. told “Real Time” host Bill Maher during an interview at the top of the show. “Comedians have been going and playing Arab countries, there was a film festival there recently, like, it’s kind of opened up.”
The comedian, who was accused in 2017 by five separate women of masturbating in front of them without consent — and became one of the most recognizable faces of the #MeToo movement — described the opportunity to perform in Saudi Arabia as “a positive thing.”
C.K., born Louis Szekely, noted that a lesbian Jewish peer of his received a standing ovation after her set there. C.K. argued that he performs in many other countries with spotty track records, and that potentially easing tensions through comedy could be a net good.
Those tensions emerge from several moments in Saudi Arabia’s recent history: Saudi officials allegedly played a role in the 9/11 attacks in 2001. There was also the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Then there are multiple stories of human rights abuses.
