The first three paragraphs

The existence of a Saudi Arabia comedy festival has been on the periphery of my mind for a few weeks, but there’s no more ignoring it. It’s finally here. The Riyadh Comedy Festival kicks off on Friday and runs for two weeks, and judging by the lineup, many famous comedians have no qualms about cashing that check and ignoring the human rights abuses.

The names involved are scattered across a range from “not surprising at all” to “wait, really?” There’s a contingent of people you knew weren’t going to say no: Jeff Ross, Kevin Hart, Chris Tucker, Russell Peters, Sebastian Maniscalco. They might as well rename this shit the Back Taxes Tour. The co-headliner combo of Louis C.K. and Jimmy Carr on Oct. 5 is to be expected. Then you get to names like Bill Burr, Pete Davidson, Aziz Ansari, Mo Amer … man, they must be getting a lot of money.

And what might that number be? Tim Dillon, a comedian who was scheduled to perform in Riyadh but was nixed for making a joke about slavery in Saudi Arabia on his podcast, claimed he stood to make $375,000 off doing one show there. Earlier this month, when he was defending his decision, he said that comedians in a higher “bracket” were being paid around $1.6 million each, and lower-tier talent was getting $150,000. “They’re paying me enough money to look the other way,” Dillon said. “Do you understand?”

The site - https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/seasons/riyadh-comedy-festival

Pete Davidson’s dad, Scott, was a firefighter who died in World Trade Centre during 9/11.