Tom Segura addressed the controversy surrounding his performance at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, offering detailed insight into the experience and responding to critics who questioned his decision to perform there.
The comedian explained how the opportunity came about organically. “I was booked to do Dubai which is in UAE. It was already announced. And then 3 months later, I got a call and they’re like, ‘Hey, do you want to do Riyadh? It’s like a 90-minute flight.’ I’m like, ‘I’m in the Middle East.’ Yeah, I’ll add a show. You know, like I’m there. It was like routing,” Segura said.
While Segura framed his Riyadh appearance as a simple routing decision with minimal restrictions, multiple comedians have since revealed that massive financial incentives were a central part of the festival’s recruitment strategy.
Comedian Tim Dillon inadvertently pulled the curtain back on the operation during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, revealing he was offered $375,000 for a single set at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. More explosively, Dillon claimed that other performers were being paid anywhere from $150,000 to as much as $1.6 million, with the highest figures likely reserved for top-tier headliners such as Dave Chappelle or Louis C.K.
Despite initially accepting the offer, Dillon was fired after joking about Saudi Arabia’s labor practices, specifically slavery, on his own American podcast. According to Dillon, his agent informed him the decision came directly from Saudi organizers.
“My agent called me and told me they heard what you said about them having slaves,” Dillon said. “I said I was being positive about it. I was defending them.”
Apparently, the mere mention of slavery was enough to get him removed. The implication was clear: performers aren’t just expected to self-censor on Saudi soil, but to continue doing so back home.
What Segura characterized as organic cultural exchange increasingly looked like a state-funded image rehabilitation campaign, with comedians functioning as high-profile ambassadors whether they acknowledged it or not.
Regarding content restrictions, Segura was straightforward: “The only restriction that we were that we had was about Islam and the royals. That was it.” He emphasized this wasn’t challenging for his act, stating, “We didn’t have Islam or royal jokes. We weren’t cutting anything from our acts.”
However, leaked contracts tell a very different story. Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka shared excerpts from the festival agreement that explicitly prohibited any material that could “degrade, defame, or bring into public disrepute” Saudi Arabia, criticize the royal family, government, or leadership, and reference any religion, religious figure, or religious practice in a negative way.
Segura found the experience overwhelmingly positive, describing the Saudi audience as knowledgeable and enthusiastic. “Everybody was highly highly well-versed in not just English but like American pop culture. So everything we talked about they got everything,” he explained. He attended a show featuring Jimmy Carr and Louis C.K. the night before and was impressed by the audience’s sophistication: “They get like even like the little throwaway lines you know like the little jokes.”
The comedian pushed back against critics, noting the selective outrage. “Some people will go, ‘Well, you should do it if the money came from like, let’s say, a promoter.’ But you’re like, ‘Yeah, but that doesn’t exist yet.’ Do you know what I mean? Like this is this is the system that’s in place now.” He pointed out that the same fund that paid for the comedy festival also brought Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran to perform.
Segura observed that much of the backlash came from unexpected sources: “The people that were most offended were the comics that weren’t invited. There’s a lot of them that like a lot of them were super vocal. And I’m like, you can’t sell a ticket in Houston. I don’t know why you’re upset about Riyadh.”
He also addressed the double standard applied to comedians versus other performers and even pointed out inconsistencies in restrictions elsewhere: “Have you ever done a private? Have you ever done a university? I have. They had restrictions. You know, they were like, don’t talk about our mascot. Don’t talk about this. Don’t talk about that.”
When confronted with arguments about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, particularly regarding journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Segura referenced Dave Chappelle‘s perspective: “Dave had the best line about that. It’s like Israel ended 240 journalists last month. You know, like what are you talking about?”
Segura views the festival as evidence of cultural progress in Saudi Arabia. “I do think it’s a sign of their progress that they put on this festival and that we were saying all kinds of things,” he said. He noted the transformation happening in the country: “Some of the guys they were telling us they were like dude like 10 years ago they’re like nothing like this could have ever ever happened here. So I don’t know how you don’t see that as some type of progress.”
Segura may genuinely believe he performed an “uncompromised act,” but the broader ecosystem tells a different story, one defined by enormous payouts, strict contractual censorship, and real consequences for crossing invisible lines.
When comedians are paid six or seven figures by a government, barred from criticizing that government, and fired for jokes made thousands of miles away, the claim that this is just another tour stop becomes increasingly hard to take at face value.
