Veteran comedian Jessica Kirson has donated the entire fee she received from performing at the recent Riyadh Comedy Festival to the Human Rights Campaign, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The event, which just wrapped a run from Sept. 26-Oct. 9, welcomed a who’s who of comedians to the country including Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Whitney Cummings, Andrew Schulz, Aziz Ansari, Jim Jefferies, Jo Koy, Sebastian Maniscalco, Mark Normand, Tom Segura, Bobby Lee, Jeff Ross and more. It ignited a firestorm of controversy as critics (including fellow comedy stars) took aim at those who participated, highlighting the kingdom’s history of oppression and human rights abuses. In recent days, however, the narrative has expanded as Burr, C.K. and Ansari have defended their participation as a way to be a part of progress in the country.
Kirson fielded some of that same criticism and opted to apologize instead. In her statement, shared exclusively with THR last week, Kirson said that she was “surprised” to be asked to perform in Riyadh Comedy Festival in the first place. She went so far as to “request a guarantee” that she could be “openly out as a lesbian on stage and perform gay material” as is common in her act.
“I hoped that this could help LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia feel seen and valued. I am grateful that I was able to do precisely that,” she said in her statement. Burr confirmed the type of material in Kirson’s set during a recent appearance on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend where he praised her for being brave enough to make jokes about Grindr in front of local royals and diplomats. Louis C.K. did the same when he appeared on Bill Maher’s HBO show, Real Time.
“To my knowledge, I am the first openly gay comic to talk about it on stage in Saudi Arabia,” Kirson said. “I received messages from attendees sharing how much it meant to them to participate in a gay-affirming event. At the same time, I deeply regret participating under the auspices of the Saudi government.”
Kirson continued by stating that she was “deeply sorry to all the fans and followers” hurt or disappointed by her decision to perform in Riyadh. At the time she sent out her statement, she had confirmed that she planned to donate the entirety of her fee to an undisclosed human rights organization. THR has confirmed with two sources that HRC received the donation.
News of Kirson’s donation comes on the heels of another nonprofit organization, Human Rights Watch, confirming that the organization “cannot accept” similar donations from stand-ups that traveled to Saudi Arabia. “Human Rights Watch didn’t call for comedians to boycott the Riyadh Comedy Festival, but simply asked them to express their support for free speech by urging the release of Saudi activists unjustly imprisoned,” said Joey Shea, a Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch. “Aziz Ansari and other comedians have generously offered to donate part of their performance fees to rights groups like Human Rights Watch, but while we cannot accept, it is not too late for them to call for the release of detained Saudi activists.”
Ansari’s name came up because during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this week, the multi-hyphenate said that “part of the fee” from the Riyadh festival “should go to support causes that support free press and human rights.” He name checked Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch. Like Burr, Ansari defended his participation in the event by saying that he “put a lot of thought” into accepting it in the first place but ultimately accepted as a way to be a part of progress.
“There’s people over there that don’t agree with the stuff that the government’s doing, and to ascribe like the worst behavior of the government onto those people, that’s not fair. Just like there’s people in America that don’t agree with the things the government is doing,” he said, adding that he consulted an aunt that lived in Saudi Arabia. “Whenever there’s repressive societies like this, they try to keep things out — whether it’s rock and roll music or blue jeans — because it makes people curious about outside ideas, outside values. And this is a very young country, like half the country is under the age of 25, and things can really change. To me, a comedy festival felt like something that’s pushing things to be more open and to push a dialogue.”
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