‘Weird Al’ Yankovic turned down seven-figure offer to perform in Saudi Arabia

Musician and comedian “Weird Al” Yankovic said he rejected an offer worth at least $1 million to perform at last year’s Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, saying the money would have made him “feel icky.”

Mr. Yankovic, who made headlines earlier this month for pulling out of an artificial intelligence advertisement, told the Pennsylvania outlet TribLive that he was invited to perform at the state-sponsored festival but turned it down despite the payday being the largest ever offered to him for a single show. 

“I wish people would offer me things that I didn’t feel bad about accepting,” Mr. Yankovic said. “I was invited to the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which is something that I obviously did not want to do. They offered me — I’m not going to say how much — but it was seven figures to do one show, which is way more than I’ve ever been offered in my life to do a show. But I just couldn’t be part of that.”

Mr. Yankovic, currently touring North America on his “Bigger and Weirder” tour, said he does not fault other performers who accepted money to appear at the festival.

“I’m not dissing anybody that took the money because I’m sure everybody that went there got a lot of money,” he said. “I’m sure they had their own reasons and justifications for doing it. But I’m doing enough that I don’t need to take any amount of money if it makes me feel icky, and that kind of did.”

The inaugural Riyadh Comedy Festival, which ran Sept. 26 to Oct. 9, featured more than 50 comedians, including Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Pete Davidson and Aziz Ansari. The event was organized by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority as part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 push to expand its entertainment sector, and it drew criticism from human rights groups and several American comedians over Saudi Arabia’s record on free speech and its role in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka said she turned down an offer that came with “content restrictions” barring jokes about the Saudi government, its legal system or religious customs.

“The money is coming straight from the Crown Prince, who actively executes journalists … without due process,” she wrote on social media.

Comedian Shane Gillis likewise turned down a fee he called a “significant bag,” saying organizers doubled the offer after he first said no. “I took a principled stand,” he said.

Several comedians who did travel to Riyadh defended the decision. Mr. Ansari said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that it was unfair “to ascribe the worst behavior of the government” onto ordinary Saudis, adding that he hoped the festival would help “push things to be more open.” Mr. Burr called the experience “one of the top three experiences I’ve had,” saying “the royals loved the show.” Louis C.K. said the invitation “felt like a good opportunity” and that “comedy is a great way to get in and start talking.” Mr. Chappelle joked onstage in Riyadh that “it’s easier to talk here than it is in America.”