Dirty Money: Why Do Celebrities Love To Take Gigs From Dictators and Oligarchs?

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The Riyadh Comedy Festival kicked off last week in Saudi Arabia. The line-up is a starry ensemble of major stand-up stars, total creeps, and podcast bros. It was the least surprising news of the century to see pushback to the idea of an arts event being hosted and funded by a dictatorship with an abysmal human rights record. The entire mess entered the realms of parody when it was revealed that participants, many of whom are bellowing regulars in the ‘you can’t say anything these days’ crowd, were contractually required not to perform material that would violate the country’s stifling censorship laws. What, you’re telling me that Jimmy Carr, Dave Chappell

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