I think those Burr quotes just show how culturally naive he actually is. Of course the Gulf states all have Western brands like Starbucks and McDonalds. And no, of course they're not all shouting "Death to America!" That shows a massive lack of basic knowledge. Has he just watched bad action films with generic Muslim bad guys?
And it's not like American movies and TV shows aren't shown locally. (A friend of mine once had a job licencing "safe" versions of shows like Friends to local cable operators in the region. In other words, they'd be cut to ribbons to remove anything seen as culturally objectionable like gay characters or even kisses. It didn't matter if the cuts rendered the plot impenetrable to anyone watching. One episode of Friends, he said, was only about 5 minutes long after all the snipping had been finished!) And I've no doubt they managed to fill auditoriums with crowds - there are probably enough expats in Riyadh to fill out the seats on their own. I know that British comics like Michael MacIntyre have played places like Dubai for years, I suspect again mostly to British expats. Adam On Wed, Oct 1, 2025 at 4:22 PM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > I don’t know what your expectations of Burr are, but that’s who he is. I > don’t follow him and I wouldn’t buy a ticket to his show even without this > festival. The comics I admire talk of him as a peer and so I listened to > some recent interviews and this is who he is. I would cite a Fresh Air > interview late last year with Terry Gross. > > Outside of Iran, the Muslim Middle East doesn’t throttle the internet and > young people in the region have full access to western culture like > everyone else. They may not be able to express it personally in their > countries, but they know who the performers are. Promoters in Dubai and > Bahrain have been bringing in western standups for a while and I assume > most of the comics who went to Riyadh have played in the region before, if > not in Saudi Arabia specifically, and are used to the ground rules. > > On Wed, Oct 1, 2025 at 10:54 AM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Lot of disappointing comments from Burr in this article. >> >> >> https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/bill-burr-riyadh-comedy-festival-controversy-1236389190/ >> >> >> Kevin M. (RPCV) >> >> >> On Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 5:51 AM Doug Eastick <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Yeah that David Cross rant was straight and to the point. >>> >>> >>> >>> /Doug >>> [email protected] >>> >>> On Tue, Sep 30, 2025, 06:11 PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> “Comedian David Cross <https://variety.com/t/david-cross/> released a >>>> fiery statement on his website Monday condemning the comedians who agreed >>>> to perform at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival >>>> <https://variety.com/t/riyadh-comedy-festival/>. >>>> >>>> “I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing. >>>> That people I admire, with unarguable talent, would condone this >>>> totalitarian fiefdom for…what, a fourth house? A boat? More sneakers?” >>>> >>>> “We can never again take seriously anything these comedians complain >>>> about (unless it’s complaining that we don’t support enough torture and >>>> mass executions of journalists and LGBQT peace activists here in the >>>> states, or that we don’t terrorize enough Americans by flying planes into >>>> our buildings).” >>>> >>>> Cross went on to call out specific names from the lineup, including >>>> comedy giants Dave Chappelle, Louie CK and Bill Burr. >>>> >>>> “Clearly you guys don’t give a shit about what the rest of us think, >>>> but how can any of us take any of you seriously ever again?” Cross added. >>>> “All of your bitching about ‘cancel culture’ and ‘freedom of speech’ and >>>> all that shit? Done. You don’t get to talk about it ever again. By now >>>> we’ve all seen the contract you had to sign.” >>>> >>>> >>>> https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/david-cross-slams-bill-burr-riyadh-comedy-festival-1236534601/ >>>> >>>> Sent from Gmail Mobile >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sun, 28 Sep 2025 at 2:49 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Pete Davidson and Bill Burr, among others. All being paid over $300k >>>>> to attend a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia. Naturally, their free speech >>>>> is restricted. >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> >>>>> https://variety.com/2025/politics/global/marc-maron-human-rights-riyadh-comedy-festival-1236530044/?fbclid=IwdGRjcANGi2dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHq9XCn-5tz1PrkXQX1TwrE9afhdZGDzCuDlTDax5mfHp41nfUs9kAwCnjvux_aem_ffRsmd1pFf2Q1ETsYAAhLw >>>>> >>>>> People like Marc Maron are questioning the ethics of taking money from >>>>> the same prince who not too long ago murdered a journalist. >>>>> >>>>> Leah Remini has weighed in. >>>>> >>>>> https://youtu.be/FDBqz1Va4Js?si=WPwgkooQELR6S6Pv >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Kevin M. (RPCV) >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>>> To view this discussion visit >>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4BUh88UhYgv6Zpo%2BLNa2JFp4vwK%3D4gA29-9ycDWc-X-Ag%40mail.gmail.com >>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4BUh88UhYgv6Zpo%2BLNa2JFp4vwK%3D4gA29-9ycDWc-X-Ag%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>> . >>>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> To view this discussion visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYL%2Bshk7zMVahVd35VN30fKE-5e8mEaAiG_CseQSWYmV3w%40mail.gmail.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYL%2Bshk7zMVahVd35VN30fKE-5e8mEaAiG_CseQSWYmV3w%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAK5Q1BqigGf%3DJsjAj1qqKKzaRDoZ3ouisisS%3DngZCR4N84XhQA%40mail.gmail.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAK5Q1BqigGf%3DJsjAj1qqKKzaRDoZ3ouisisS%3DngZCR4N84XhQA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4Dxs-s-4UaZ_9f64qyd102%3DH62J8wx6Dc77yXwpk%2Bvpdg%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4Dxs-s-4UaZ_9f64qyd102%3DH62J8wx6Dc77yXwpk%2Bvpdg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHGjqipmAcRa8BAaoMt2_GG-j65B4V5pGWKHs-DT%3Dcx1Q%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHGjqipmAcRa8BAaoMt2_GG-j65B4V5pGWKHs-DT%3Dcx1Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. 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