Leslie Knope would never, but it seems like Amy Poehler would.
The beloved “Saturday Night Live” alum is getting a lot of pushback from her fans for inviting her former “Parks and Recreation” co-star and comedian Aziz Ansari on to her podcast.
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope and Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford in a 2013 episode of “Parks and Recreation.”
“Everyone loves the podcast so when the comments look as they do right now you know something’s up,” observed one YouTube commenter beneath Tuesday’s episode of Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast.
Not only was Ansari accused of sexual misconduct in 2018, but he — and other big name comedians such as Pete Davidson, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Bill Burr and Louis C.K. — are receiving an onslaught of backlash for performing at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival earlier this month.
Human Rights Watch warned late last month that the state-sponsored event was an attempt to “deflect attention” from the country’s “brutal repression of free speech and other pervasive human rights violations.” It also noted that the festival coincided with the seventh anniversary of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate.
People hold posters picturing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and light candles during a gathering outside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, on Oct. 25, 2018.
YASIN AKGUL via Getty Images
Although it’s unclear if the podcast episode was recorded before or after Ansari performed in Saudi Arabia, it also begs one to wonder why “Good Hang” decided to release this particular episode now.
HuffPost has reached out to Poehler and the Ringer, which helps produce “Good Hang,” for comment, but did not get an immediate response.
Poehler didn’t mention any of Ansari’s controversies during his appearance on her podcast. Instead the two had a light and playful conversation about their time on “Parks & Rec,” Keanu Reeves and the comedian’s favorite foods.
Ansari and Poehler attend the TIME 100 Gala in 2012.
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
Fans on YouTube expressed their outrage in the comments section.
“I’m a huge part and rec fan, but I refuse to support any celebrity that involved in the Riyadh thing,” a commenter said.
“Straight to jail on this one, guys. Catch you next episode,” another said.
“No but thank you. I am not supporting any of the Riyadh squat,” another commenter chimed in. “And I feel disappointed with this co-signing of him. I hope there is some sort of questioning his morals of this, but I guess then it is not a good hang. Why ruin the good vibe with questions of support to dictators and killers.”
“Proud of the comments holding people accountable,” said another.
Over on Instagram, fans were also critical.
“How was Saudi Arabia?” one user asked.
“Oh Amy, this was a bad choice,” another user said.
“And just like that, the good hang perfect guest streak has officially come to an end,” a fan bemoaned.
“And now he supports dictators who kill journalists,” echoed another user.
Although Poehler kept it breezy with Ansari, Jimmy Kimmel did not.
When Ansari appeared on his show last week to promote his feature directorial debut, “Good Fortune,” Kimmel grilled him about why he decided to do the Riyadh comedy festival.
“I’m glad you asked, because it’s something I’ve put a lot of thought into,” Ansari explained, noting that he reached out to his aunt, who lived there for some time. “She said, ‘There’s people over there that don’t agree with the stuff that the government’s doing, and to ascribe the worst behavior of the government onto those people, that’s not fair.’ Just like there’s people in America that don’t agree with the things the government is doing.”
Kimmel agreed that things aren’t rainbows and sunshine in the United States at the moment, but pointed out that in Saudi Arabia, they “murdered a journalist.”
“These are not good people over there,” Kimmel said. “Did you deal with those people specifically?”
“I was just there to do a show for the people,” Ansari replied. “I talked to my wife about this before I went, and she said, ‘Whenever there’s repressive societies like this, they try to keep things out — whether it’s rock and roll music or blue jeans — because it makes people curious about outside ideas, outside values. And this is a very young country, like half the country is under the age of 25, and things can really change.’ And to me, a comedy festival felt like something that’s pushing things to be more open and to push a dialogue.”
He added: “You kind of have to make a choice of whether you’re going to isolate or engage. For me, especially being me and looking the way I do and being from a Muslim background, it felt like something I should be a part of. And I hope it pushes things in a positive direction.”
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Ansari said he told his team before he decided to do the gig that “part of the fee should go to support causes that support free press and human rights,” and then mentioned giving some of the funds to Human Rights Watch.
“Aziz Ansari and other comedians have generously offered to donate part of their performance fees to rights groups like Human Rights Watch,” the organization said in a statement last week. “But while we cannot accept, it is not too late for them to call for the release of detained Saudi activists.”