Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | News | October 7, 2025
OK, first off: Saying “I gave this a lot of thought” and “I discussed it with my wife” will not justify any decision ever. That said, Aziz Ansari did attempt to combine Louis CK’s justification (spreading freedom) with Bill Burr’s (“they’re just like us”) and mix them with Ansari’s own personal reasons (“I had an aunt who lived there” and “I’m from a Muslim background”)—with decidedly mixed results. Here it is, cued up to where Jimmy Kimmel asks the question that Ansari clearly requested he be asked:
Yes, it’s true that we shouldn’t ascribe the “worst behavior” of the Saudi Arabian government to its people, just as we shouldn’t ascribe the worst behavior of the American government to all Americans. When asked if he “dealt with” the bad people in Saudi Arabia directly, however, Ansari conveniently left out the part where they’re the ones who paid him.
But I’ll give him this: maybe a comedy festival is something that seems like it’s “pushing things to be more open” in Saudi Arabia. “You kind of have to make a choice between whether you’re going to isolate or engage. And for me, especially, being me and looking the way I do and being from a Muslim background, it felt like something I should be a part of, and I hope it pushes things in a positive direction.”
So, he did it for noble reasons? If that were the case, then why not do it for free? Why did it take probably more money than he was paid to write and direct his forthcoming film Good Fortune for Ansari to perform in Riyadh?
This might be a bad comparison, but for some reason, I’m reminded of the Moscow Peace Festival in 1989. During the Glasnost era of the Soviet Union, a lot of rock musicians wanted to introduce outside rock and heavy metal music to people who had lived under one-party communist rule for decades. It was Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Cinderella, Jason Bonham, etc. Over 100,000 people attended the two-day festival, which was meant to be the Russian Woodstock.
And did the Russian government back a truck full of money up to these rock musicians’ houses? They did not. Granted, they were opening up a new market for their music, but in this case, all the proceeds from the concert went to the Make a Difference Foundation to help treat people in the Soviet Union for alcohol and drug addictions.
That’s how you do it. I mean, I’m sure there were some transactional gains for the musicians involved, but at least it wasn’t nakedly transparent that they were all doing it for the money.
At least Ansari did say that “part of the proceeds” will go to support the free press and human rights (“Reporters Without Borders” and “Human Rights Watch”). That’s cool. It might have felt more meaningful had he said that before attending the Riyadh Comedy Festival and before all the backlash.
It’s also worth noting that, in the last week, both Louis CK and Bill Burr have rationalized their decisions by saying, “It’s cool. A Jewish, lesbian comedian also attended the festival.” That Jewish, lesbian comedian is Jessica Kirson, who has since expressed regret for attending and donated the entire fee.
