Jimmy Carr defends controversial Saudi Arabia gig: ‘I loved it’
The comedian drew criticism for performing in Riyadh, despite Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record.
(Variety via Getty Images)
Jimmy Carr has defended his choice to perform at the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival, saying of the gig: “I loved it.”
Carr, who has previously faced backlash over his risky jokes in stand-up shows, was one of several comedians from the UK and US who accepted an invitation to join the festival’s bill, despite Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record. Jack Whitehall, Omid Djalili, Louis C.K., Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, and Pete Davidson also performed during its run in September and October, coming under fire from other comedians who disagreed with their choices.
Now, Carr has explained his decision in an interview for The Louis Theroux Podcast, saying: “We need to give up on the idea that the Middle East becomes Western Europe.”
The 8 Out of 10 Cats star also spoke about his controversial Holocaust joke, which came close to seeing him cancelled, and the reason he won’t filter his jokes to avoid causing offence.
(Kirill Bichutsky via Getty Images)
The most controversial moment of 2025 in comedy was undoubtedly the Riyadh Comedy Festival, as comedians took sides between those who were happy to accept the huge fee attached to joining the lineup and those outraged by the idea that anyone would accept the gig.
Carr was one of those happy to feature at the festival and told Theroux in a new episode of his podcast: “I played it. I loved it.”
Saudi Arabia has been condemned over human rights issues, including an increase in the number of executions for drug-related or non-lethal crimes, as well as long prison sentences for social media posts deemed offensive to the regime. In June, journalist Turki al-Jasser was executed after being imprisoned for “high treason” in 2018 over newspaper articles and blog posts.
The festival was held over the seventh anniversary of the assassination of Saudi journalist and newspaper editor Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018. Khashoggi had been critical of the Saudi government and had fled the country, but was executed at the consulate while trying to get papers for his planned marriage.
Discussing the controversy, Carr said, “Some people didn’t want to go, fine.” Theroux asked him about rumours that performers were offered between £250,000 and £1m to take part, and asked Carr how much he had been paid.
Carr replied: “I was paid, I would say a commensurate amount with selling out an 8,000-seater room. And I didn’t get paid, I earned it.”
Defending his choice, he continued: “But here’s the thing, I think we need to give up on the idea that the Middle East becomes Western Europe. The Middle East is a very different place. And the same people who will tell you diversity is our strength will tell you, ‘Don’t go there’. They’re not like us.
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“And the thing that I like about Saudi Arabia is the direction of travel. Look at where it was 10 years ago. Look at where it is now. The direction of travel is pretty good. They clearly kind of want to be Dubai, which you could have said this about Dubai 25 years ago: ‘Don’t go there, they’re not like us’.
“It’s a different culture. Different way of conducting a society. So the idea of going ‘Don’t go there because they’re not like us’, well, I play 50 countries around the world. I go where the audience (want me).”
(Sipa US, Sipa US)
Carr performed a double header with the controversial US comedian Louis C.K., whom he acknowledged had been cancelled over allegations of misconduct. He said of the idea of comedians being cancelled: “You have to deal with the consequences. If you’re going to say that, you’ve got to be willing to say it and go, ‘I don’t regret telling that joke’.
“That’s fine. Some people really were upset by it. That’s okay. I’ve got the people that come and see me, and they really like that stuff, and I’ve got to serve them. Not someone else.”
Asked if he thought he had ever lost work over a joke, Carr replied: “Who knows? I suppose it’s that thing of going, ‘How much more successful could I be were I to cut out the 10% most offensive stuff? Could I have been a bigger mainstream hit?’ Yeah, probably. But I don’t want to be a grifter. I don’t want to sell you something that I wouldn’t buy myself. If I’m not for me, who is?”
What Jimmy Carr said about his divisive Holocaust joke
Like many a comedian, Carr has faced backlash over some of his jokes, but most memorably was over his 2021 Netflix Christmas special His Dark Material where he joked about the Gypsies who were killed in the Holocaust. The furore reached such a pitch that it was even discussed in Parliament.
Carr said, “It’s okay for people to be upset. There’s a big difference between being cancelled, people going, ‘Not only do I not like him, I don’t think other people should be allowed to see him, ban this filth’, and people criticising you and going, ‘I just don’t like it. I don’t think he’s funny.’ That’s absolutely valid.”
(Frazer Harrison via Getty Images)
He added, “Other people’s opinion about me is none of my business. That’s the line. That’s what you’ve got to remember…There’s a phrase in therapy which is, ‘You’ve got to right-size things’, and I think right-sizing this is, I told a joke and some people didn’t like it. That’s what happened there. We can dress it up and call it cancel culture, and get all upset, but you go, I told a joke. Some people didn’t like it and then everyone moved on, people that still like me, come and see me.
“Anyone that takes that seriously, anyone that sees that bit of comedy and goes, ‘oh, he must think that’… I can’t engage with that.”
Talking more about freedom of speech in comedy, Carr said: “You have to defend what you don’t like, as well as what you like…The joke that makes you roll around laughing and you can’t wait to tell your friends, it’s the best joke in the world, and the joke that offends you, that you think is disgusting, comes from the same place.
“We’re trying to make you laugh. Trying to lighten the load of life a little bit. Like Evel Knievel, we’re paid for the attempt. We are not paid for the jump.”