During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Steve-O addressed the controversy surrounding comedians performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, praising Dave Chappelle‘s unapologetic handling of the backlash.
The conversation arose when Steve-O brought up the intense criticism that comedians faced for participating in the Saudi Arabian comedy festival. “The Riyadh comedy festival, right? Like it was such like an apocalyptic nuclear b*mb in the world,” Steve-O said, describing the scale of the controversy.
He noted how different performers responded to the criticism in varying ways. “There was so much backlash for people who went to it… Individual comics had their own way of kind of defending their move,” Steve-O explained. He observed that many comedians seemed defensive about their decision to perform there, with some appearing “a little bit disingenuous about in their defense.”
However, Steve-O was particularly impressed by how Dave Chappelle addressed the situation in his recent special. “Then dude Dave Chappelle puts out this special and so unapologetic about him being at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. It was just like it was so masterful,” Steve-O said with clear admiration.
He elaborated on what made Chappelle’s approach so effective: “The way he was just like, ‘Oh, like I went to Riyadh and got paid like a ton of money to do comedy and like so unapologetic and it was just like, oh my god.'”
When discussing the criticism itself, Rogan explained the perspective of those opposed to the performances: “The idea is that you support the regime by doing standup over there, which I think is crazy because you’re doing it for the audience members. And the audience members have no say in who their government is. They’re literally monarchy.”
Steve-O acknowledged this point, stating his own neutral stance on the matter: “I don’t even have a judgment whatsoever, especially because have I ever not watched a UFC event because it happened in Saudi Arabia or Dubai or wherever.”
He drew a parallel between comedy performances and sporting events, questioning why different standards would apply.
However, Rogan pointed out that some view comedians differently, noting “the idea is that comedians are supposed to be social commentators and they’re supposed to like carry a baton for free speech.”
Steve-O ultimately praised Chappelle’s confidence in handling the situation, saying: “I don’t give a s**t one way or the other. My only input here is that Dave Chappelle like, checkmated.”
Rogan agreed, pointing to Chappelle’s strategy of avoiding social media: “He handles everything perfectly. And again, he’s not on social media. He’s not paying attention to people’s opinions of him.”
