“Make shit excuses” isn’t really a definition of “defend.”
To defend something, it should be defensible in the first place. Otherwise you’re just failing while talking about how it was worth it, but with extra steps.
If you do know any of them somehow you might want to refuse any of their gift from now on if you believe it’s from dirty money.
It’s kind of a who’s who of questionable comedians. Curious from a moral perspective: if one takes the gig and donates their proceeds to a charitable cause, are they off the hook?
Another thing I’m reminded of is, I’ve heard many big comedians have had a gig at a corporate event at one point or another (I’ve heard some refer to them as terrible audiences lol). In that world, you’re kinda trained early on to never turn down a gig… but if they were to headline a company event for say, Nestle or United Healthcare or something, are we ok with that too?
Inb4 they whine in their next comedy specials that they’re ‘being cancel cultured again by Gen Z’ and this time its ‘just for working’.
Cue laughs from conservatives.
Jim Jefferies disappeared from the Riyadh festival lineup after he said on Theo Von’s podcast: ‘One reporter was killed by the [Saudi] government – unfortunate, but not a fucking hill that I’m gonna die on.’
What a fucking loser. He threw his soul away AND lost the payday. Lose-lose fucking loser.
The rest is even more cringy
“arguing it is for the greater good that “freedom-of-speech machines” such as himself bestow their “edgy” material on the kingdom and its subjects.”
It is one thing to sell your soul for money (or try anyways lol) but it is an entirely another level of loser quality to pretend like you are fighting for freedom while doing it.
Comedians understanding that they’re less significant of a form of free speech to society than a free and independent press is basically impossible for some reason.
chapelles reason was pretty obvious, hes a transphobe, that was mad when he cant say transphobic jokes, and SA allows him to be transphobic as much as he wants.
What I find most weird about him choosing to die on that hill is it wasn’t even a good transphobic joke.
Literally just hurr durr she has a dick.
My thought about the whole thing was that if someone went there and, in spite of the agreement they signed, teed off on the Saudis and whatever else they were forbidden from discussing, I’d have had respect. Was honestly hoping that’s what Burr was intending to do. I’d have donated to the GoFundMe for them to fight the inevitable lawsuit from the Saudis.
Obviously didn’t happen. We live in a difficult world, and when presented with the choice between fighting (hard) and rolling over (easy), people take the obvious choice. I don’t know if I’m doing it differently.
Are these sets even recorded and able to be viewed somewhere, or were they essentially private? If they’re private, I dunno, I get it.
I don’t think the consequences of that would be a lawsuit. I think they’d go missing and would only be “found” as a mutilated corpse to send a message to anyone else who might have similar ideas. Or, if they are feeling bold enough, they might even do it officially.
Yeah, as brazen as they are, I don’t think they’re murdering American citizens for breach of contract. Regardless of what they said, it would be an incredibly hostile act towards the US and would lead to sanctions at best.
Wasn’t that journalist an American citizen?
And I question whether it would even lead to real problems with the current admin or if he’d just call it a good idea on social media and applaud them for dealing with someone for saying such nasty things about them. And unleash riot forces on protestors (or just use it as an excuse to try to ramp things up more).
I wouldn’t get so annoyed if they just took the easy path and went along with it. My only reaction would be to perhaps not watch their shows. But taking the easy path while pretending like it is actually virtuous… It just feels very slimy… Now I feel like making fun of this person every time I hear his name.
I have enough moral to look the other way, away from these so called sell out comedians.
Let’s make it cost them more to get their fans back.
Likewise we’re not paid enough to be their audience. Grifters, kindly fuck off the stage.
Everyone in the country does it. Why is this special?
Well, most people in the country don’t go on stage to whine about free speech and what they can or cannot say, then accept payouts from shitbag regimes while signing a contract telling them what they cannot say.
Wave you watched the news? Lmao
The people complaining about these people are also complaining about those people.
We all went to Saudi Arabia to perform in a comedy festival?
These people are all willing to play shows in the US, why wouldn’t you expect them to play in Saudi Arabia? Sounds like living in denial about our own country. Like the concept of blood diamonds; money from software made in the US has funded conflict all over the globe but no one called it blood software. We used to export soybeans and used the money to bomb foreigners and no one called em blood soybeans.
Moral failings are always some other countries problem, we’re the shining city on the hill remember? /s
There’s a big difference between playing a show IN a country and playing a show FOR a country. We rightfully give people shit for performing for Trump at the White House but not for performing for a bunch of normal people in Los Angeles.
Playing a show in Saudi Arabia would be different than playing this show funded by the Saudi government. The shows played in America, for the most part, aren’t funded by the government here. That’s the difference. People gave the celebrities who performed at Trump’s inauguration shit for it. That’s consistent my guy.
We’re about to have a ufc fight on the White House lawn
Soon saudia arabia will own UFC.
So long as there is no drinking or gambling, SA will support it.
Seems very similar to performing at the White House Correspondents Dinner
Also the fact they were supporting something opposite of what Saudia arabia represents. aka, free speech, lgbtq+ rights,etc. something SA is against and they went and accepted the money.
Saudi Arabia is an absolutist monarchy where the person in power is a monarch, so playing a show for the monarchy is playing a show for the people in power.
The USA is a capitalist country where the people in power are capitalist owners, so playing a show in a privately-owned venue is playing a show for the people in power.
We’re not great currently, but we are leaps and bounds better than Saudi Arabia right now.
Are you saying all entertainment folks in the US should just stop working? That is neither feasible or possible for non A-listers.
Edit: apparently some one is ok with already struggling artist starving. Hope you have the same energy when it’s your turn to refuse work.
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these comedians arnt struggling lol, most of them are upper middle class or wealthy(millionaires.
Are you gums bleeding yet?
Then shut the fuck up!
Don’t invent the scenarios, none of the comedians in questions are “starving”.
That pedicab driver also lives in South Florida.
Where in the fuck do you recommend he moves too?
It must be nice to cast judgement on others…
You’re a bad person and you should feel bad.
Oh yeah. Definitely take a different view of Bill Burr.
But there’s a local one legged pedal cad driver who I personally know just trying to make ends meet.
Should he suffer as well?
We’re not great currently, but we are leaps and bounds better than Saudi Arabia right now
No, you are not. You have fascist brigades roaming around terrorizing minorities, you have innocents being taken to illegal prisons, you have a worldwide media apparatus boosting fascism all over the world, 20% of male black US population goes through jail (where slave labour is legal) at some point of their lives, you are intervening in regime change and upholding fascist puppets like Milei or Bolsonaro, you start war after war after war, and last but not least, you’re materially and diplomatically enabling the genocide of Palestinians by the fascist ethnostate of Isntreal. The US is not “leaps and bounds better than Saudi Arabia”.
Clickbait
Literal blood money bruh
Paid to look the other way eh, fine I choose to do the same and look and support the performers that boycotted or refused and look away from you.
They know they will get future gigs with MSB, who will probably pay millions down the line per show, or viewing. aside from chapelle who is obviously wants to joke about trans people with no restrictions, the others are just doing it for money.
We really got the worst era of comedy. Bunch of court jesters dancing for a king while the city burns
These losers hardly represent all of comedy.
I think they have. They’re the highest paid and most well known. That’s what defines an era unfortunately. It’s what defines status quo
What’s popular and “well known” is rarely, if ever, innovative. Established comics are always the most boring and hacky of their time. They may have been fresh and innovative once, but once they’re at the top, they just become tired shells of what they once were. The actual trend setters are the up-and-comers. That’s who define the era.
American comedy is become irredeemably lame. Though Jimmy Carr is on the list there too but at least him being a spineless whore is kinda his schtick
They were funded by these large groups and that isn’t talked about enough. It wasn’t just SA blood money they chased. They took it from hertiage foudation and other conservative groups. Most probably didn’t even realize they were doing it. They’d just get booked through agents. It just happened that these agents were working with groups who probably paid for personality profiles of the lamest comedians who could benefit their cause if they were actually popular.
There are definitely exceptions. All of the comics mentioned here are people who peaked a decade or more ago, and most of them are extremely out of touch. There are a lot of more contemporary comics who are doing a great job. I don’t see Josh Johnson or Ashley Gavin or Gianmarco Soresi or like the people on Dropout showing up to something like this. There’s a whole generation of great comics, a lot of them coming out of UCB, who are funnier, wittier, and wiser than any of these clowns.
I’d like to hear if Carr has any additional reasoning than just money.
So far he’s not made a public statement but knowing his shows are mostly people heckling him and him responding I can’t wait to see him called out
Jo Koy hurt me the most. First time I saw my wife crying with joy over his Asian accents bit. He’s not nearly so funny if you’re not Filipino, or are at least close to the community, but he’s still damned good.
Guess they all got caught up in the idea that, “Everyone else is doing it!” And honestly? I could see myself fall into that.
I’m sure I’ll get beat up for making excuses for them. But I’m not that guy, and I wasn’t there. Were you?
