The lineup of A-list comedians who are jetting off to Saudi Arabia to perform at the two-week Riyadh Comedy Festival notably does not include central Pennsylvania’s own stand up star Shane Gillis.

Gillis, the one-time former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and two-time SNL host, said he turned down a “significant bag” [of money] that was being offered to him to perform.

Speaking on Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast , Gillis said it was the alleged role of Saudi Arabia in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack that led to his decision.

“I took a principled stand,” he said. “You don’t 9/11 your friends.”

Gillis, 37, took fellow comics to task for performing in a nation that has long been mired in allegations of links to 9/11 and other terrorist acts, including the 2018 murder of Washingto

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