Bill Barr slams critics for his appearance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. In an interview on the podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” Barr said, “I don’t care what all these fake fucking people are saying.”
“The general consensus was, ‘How dare you go to that place and make the oppressed people laugh, you motherfucker. I can’t believe you went there. I can’t even find it on the map, and this bot told me I was mad about it, so I’m still mad about it,'” Barr said of the outrage over the festival. “It’s one thing to wear clothes made by sweatshop workers; it’s quite another to go to a factory and make fun of it. You can’t believe how angry I felt about this issue after it went viral.”
Bill was one of many prominent comedians who traveled to Saudi Arabia for the comedy festival, which was held from September 26th to October 9th. Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Whitney Cummings and Andrew Schulz also performed during the event.
Barr told O’Brien in a podcast interview that he “never expected” the festival to spark an explosive online controversy. The talent who performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival was widely criticized on social media by Marc Maron, David Cross, Zach Woods and other comedians. Cross specifically criticized Barr and blamed the festival, adding: “I’m disgusted and deeply disappointed by this whole awful thing.”
“I don’t care what all these fake fucking Soviets are saying,” Barr said on his podcast, later adding: “I don’t really care about Conan. And if it’s going to affect my career, I’ve been to LAX enough in my life and I’m just going to stay home for a little while. Let’s be real, LAX is a little sadder than Saudi Arabia.”
“I’ve been going through this crap all week,” Barr added of the backlash, reinforcing his position that it was a positive experience overall.
“It was necessary. I felt that way right after,” Barr said. “I talked to them and they were funny. Damn, they were funny. I don’t know what to say. I had a great time. … I love the podcast, especially thanks for sticking with me through all this shit. You’re a true friend, dude.”
Barr first commented on the backlash on an episode of his podcast, calling the experience of performing in Saudi Arabia “shocking,” adding: “The royal family loved the show. Everyone was happy. The people organizing the festival were excited too.” Barr called the festival “one of the top three experiences I’ve had.”
