{"id":200634,"date":"2025-10-04T01:40:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T01:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/200634\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T01:40:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T01:40:08","slug":"jessica-kirson-expresses-sincere-regret-for-riyadh-comedy-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/200634\/","title":{"rendered":"Jessica Kirson Expresses ‘Sincere Regret’ for Riyadh Comedy Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tComedian Jessica Kirson, an openly gay veteran of the stand-up stage, has issued a statement expressing \u201csincere regret\u201d for being among the more than 50 stars to participate in Saudi Arabia<\/a>\u2019s Riyadh Comedy<\/a> Festival. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe event \u2014 currently taking place from Sept. 26-Oct. 9 and billed as the \u201cworld\u2019s largest comedy festival\u201d \u2014\u00a0welcomed a who\u2019s who of comedians to the country including Dave Chappelle<\/a>, Bill Burr<\/a>, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart<\/a>, Pete Davidson, Whitney Cummings, Andrew Schulz, Aziz Ansari<\/a>, Jim Jefferies, Jo Koy, Sebastian Maniscalco, Mark Normand, Tom Segura, Bobby Lee, Jeff Ross and more. It has come under fire this week as word spread of its lineup, leading comedy world insiders like Marc Maron, David Cross and Atsuko Okatsuka to speak out<\/a> against it. Cross cited Saudi Arabia\u2019s \u201coppressive regime\u201d and the country\u2019s treatment of women, the LGBTQ community and journalists as cause for alarm.<\/p>\n

\n\tOkatsuka, who shared that she turned down<\/a> the fest\u2019s offer, posted the event\u2019s contract online, which included the following: \u201cARTIST shall not prepare or perform any material that may be considered to degrade, defame or bring into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, embarrassment, or ridicule: A) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including its leadership, public figures, culture or people; B) The Saudi royal family, legal system, or government, and; C) Any religion, religious tradition, religious figure or religious practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn her statement, shared exclusively with The Hollywood Reporter, Kirson said that she was \u201csurprised\u201d to be asked to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. She even went so far as to \u201crequest a guarantee\u201d that she could be \u201copenly out as a lesbian on stage and perform gay material\u201d as is common in her act.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI hoped that this could help LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia feel seen and valued. I am grateful that I was able to do precisely that \u2014 to my knowledge, I am the first openly gay comic to talk about it on stage in Saudi Arabia. I received messages from attendees sharing how much it meant to them to participate in a gay-affirming event. At the same time, I deeply regret participating under the auspices of the Saudi government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKirson offered that she is \u201cdeeply sorry to all the fans and followers\u201d hurt or disappointed by her decision to perform in Riyadh. She has committed to donating the entirety of her fee to an undisclosed human rights organization. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have a special relationship with my fans because of the vulnerable nature of my comedy and the trust they place in me as part of the queer community. To my fans: I see you. I hear you. Your voice matters to me. I love you all, and I am genuinely sorry for making a poor decision that had repercussions I didn\u2019t fully consider. I will take full responsibility for my actions and dedicate myself to making amends, so that my words and choices reflect the respect and care you deserve,\u201d Kirson concluded in her statement as a direct reach out to her community, which includes nearly 1 million followers on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn recent days, her fans have been taking to the comments section on Instagram to share their objections to her participation. \u201cYou really sold out like\u2026I\u2019m super sad about this,\u201d wrote one. Another added, \u201cStill waiting for the explanation behind your terrible decision to accept money from a horrible regime\u2026Do you care so little that you think it\u2019ll all blow over?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn recent days, as the firestorm spread, comedians like Burr have defended<\/a> their decision to participate. On his podcast, Burr called it \u201ca great experience\u201d to be on the stage there. \u201cThe royals loved the show. Everyone was happy. The people that were doing the festival were thrilled. The comedians that I\u2019ve been talking to are saying, \u2018Dude, you can feel [the audience] wanted it. They want to see real stand-up comedy.\u2019 It was a mind-blowing experience. Definitely top three experiences I\u2019ve had. I think it\u2019s going to lead to a lot of positive things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut Kirson is the first to release a lengthy statement apologizing while also confirming the donation of her salary. Read Kirson\u2019s full statement below.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Sept. 29, I performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. This decision has weighed heavily on my heart ever since. I like to express my sincere regret for having performed under a government that continues to violate fundamental human rights.<\/p>\n

\n\tI want to share the context for my decision \u2014 not as an excuse, but because the people who have trusted me deserve to hear from me. As an artist, my mission has always been to help people feel less alone. As an openly gay person, when I was asked to perform in Riyadh, I was surprised. I requested a guarantee that I could be openly out as a lesbian on stage and perform gay material. I hoped that this could help LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia feel seen and valued. I am grateful that I was able to do precisely that \u2014 to my knowledge, I am the first openly gay comic to talk about it on stage in Saudi Arabia. I received messages from attendees sharing how much it meant to them to participate in a gay-affirming event. At the same time, I deeply regret participating under the auspices of the Saudi government.<\/p>\n

\n\tI have donated the entirety of what I was paid to perform there to a human rights organization. I made this decision because I want that money to go to an organization that can help combat these severe issues.<\/p>\n

\n\tI respect my fellow comics who have spoken out against the festival, and we should all be able to share our perspectives. I recognize the concerns and criticism this has raised. I hope that this moment sparks dialogue about how we can use our platforms for good \u2014 to support people without a voice and to find ways to be less divided. In the past, I\u2019ve faced criticism for choices I\u2019ve made, both on and off stage, and I rarely responded. This time, I felt I needed to speak up. I could not remain silent.<\/p>\n

\n\tMost importantly, I am deeply sorry to all the fans and followers I have hurt or disappointed. I have a special relationship with my fans because of the vulnerable nature of my comedy and the trust they place in me as part of the queer community. To my fans: I see you. I hear you. Your voice matters to me. I love you all, and I am genuinely sorry for making a poor decision that had repercussions I didn\u2019t fully consider. I will take full responsibility for my actions and dedicate myself to making amends, so that my words and choices reflect the respect and care you deserve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Comedian Jessica Kirson, an openly gay veteran of the stand-up stage, has issued a statement expressing \u201csincere regret\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[26771,107525,1036,112026,88,55676,131],"class_list":{"0":"post-200634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-aziz-ansari","9":"tag-bill-burr","10":"tag-comedy","11":"tag-dave-chappelle","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-kevin-hart","14":"tag-saudi-arabia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}