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“Real Time” host Bill Maher called out comedian Dave Chappelle Friday for downplaying free speech in America during his performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia last week.
“Dave Chappelle… was in the press today saying that you can speak more freely over here than in America,” Maher said to comedian Louis C.K., who is set to perform at the Saudi comedy festival on Monday.
C.K. let out a laugh and conceded, “I don’t know if that’s true.”
CHAPPELLE SAYS IT’S EASIER TO SPEAK FREELY AT SAUDI ARABIAN COMEDY FEST THAN IN USA, BRINGS UP CHARLIE KIRK
“Oh, it’s not true,” Maher said. He added that if Chappelle truly believed that Saudi Arabia had fewer restrictions on free speech than America, he should have tested that claim by doing a routine about the Prophet Muhammad.
Comedian Bill Maher on the set of HBO’s “Real Time” on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2025. (Screenshot/HBO)
Reacting to Maher’s suggestion, C.K. quickly clarified that Chappelle is a Muslim — “So it depends on who you are and what you want to talk about.”
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According to The New York Times, Chappelle told an audience of about 6,000 people: “Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get canceled. I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out.”
The Times reported that Chappelle was met with “whoops, cheers and applause” after telling the crowd, “It’s easier to talk here than it is in America.”
Dave Chappelle during SNL Promos on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. ((Photo by: Rosalind O’Connor/NBC via Getty Images))
Comedians performing at the festival have come under fire in recent weeks, even receiving pushback from fellow comedians, who argued that Saudi Arabia is using the high-profile event to improve its global image despite alleged human rights abuses.
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In a statement posted on his website, comedian and actor David Cross blasted his peers for taking part in the event, citing the host nation’s “crimes against humanity.”
Cross referenced accusations that the Saudi government assisted 9/11 hijackers, that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly ordered the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the kingdom’s record on LGBTQ and women’s rights.
Cross wrote he was “disgusted and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing,” accusing the participants of condoning “a totalitarian fiefdom for … what, a fourth house? A boat? More sneakers?”
Shane Gillis said that he took a “principled stand” by turning down a “significant” offer to perform at the Saudi comedy festival. (Christopher Polk/ via Getty Images)
During a recent episode of the “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” comedian Shane Gillis revealed that he was offered a “significant” amount of money to perform at the event but declined the job. He said that the festival’s organizers doubled their offer, but he once again turned them down.
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“I took a principled stand,” Gillis said. “You don’t 9/11 your friends.”
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives of Chappelle for comment.
Fox News’ Ashley Hume contributed to this report.
