David Cross recently distanced himself from a fellow comedian performing at the Starry Riad Comedy Festival, which features well-known acts like Dave Chapelle, Louis CK, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, and Whitney Cummings. However, Pete Davidson has stepped in to support this move.
Just last week, the festival made headlines by promoting itself as the “world’s largest comedy festival” on its website.
Davidson, while addressing the controversy, remarked, “It seems like you folks don’t really care about anyone else’s opinions. How can anyone take this seriously again? There’s all this talk about ‘cancel culture’ and ‘free speech,’ but then we see the contracts you signed. You’re literally performing for one of the most oppressive regimes worldwide… This truly fits the definition of ‘blood money,’ and your hypocrisy is glaring.”
It’s worth noting that Davidson’s father, who was a firefighter in New York, lost his life during the 9/11 attacks.
On September 23rd, during an appearance on Theo Von’s podcast, Davidson, when queried about the backlash that Cross faced, shared, “I think these folks are in bed with it. I get the situation, then I check the numbers, and I think, ‘Okay, I’m in’—probably referring to the paycheck.”
He added further context about 9/11 and the perplexity surrounding participation in a festival in that region.
Mark Maron, another podcaster, commented on the festival, saying, “I mean, how do you even promote this? You’re from the country that brought us 9/11. Two weeks of laughter in the desert—don’t miss it!”
