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Here’s what Aziz Ansari can do with his Riyadh Comedy Festival money

<i>Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images via CNN Newsource</i><br/>Aziz Ansari

By CNN Newsource

Published October 10, 2025 9:41 am

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show, Aziz Ansari defended his decision to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival.

He also said he planned on donating part of the fee he earned to “causes that support free press and human rights.”

Human Rights Watch has said no thanks.

Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, told CNN there has so far been no donation from Ansari, but also said that the organization would not accept one from him. They also pledged not to accept money from any of the other comedians who participated in the state-run comedy festival held in Saudi Arabia.

Shea explained that the organization “cannot take government funding directly or indirectly, and we’re also very careful about how we accept private funding as well.”

Instead of monetary donations, Human Rights Watch would like the comedians to advocate for the release of Saudi human rights defenders, including Manahel al-Otaibi and Waleed Abulkhair, who have been imprisoned by the government.

Shea said her organization reached out privately to the comedians who performed, including Ansari, with a list of names of such defenders in an attempt to get them to draw attention to those who have been persecuted.

“We just feel if you are going to be performing, taking Saudi government money to perform at a state-backed festival, you have a responsibility to mitigate the impacts of that reputation laundering,” Shea told CNN. “And for that we suggested to publicly call for the release of these Saudi human rights defenders.”

Kimmel pressed Ansari during their interview about his performance at the event in light of what the late night talk show host said is a “pretty brutal regime” that has “done a lot of horrible, horrible things.”

“People are questioning why you would go over there and take their money to perform in front of these people,” Kimmel asked Ansari. “I’m curious as to why you decided to do that.”

“There’s people over there that don’t agree with the stuff that the government’s doing, and to ascribe like the worst behavior of the government onto those people, that’s not fair,” said Ansari, who also said he had put a great deal of thought into the decision.

The country is under the Islamic regime essentially led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is at the center of several complaints of human rights violations, including the 2018 state-sponsored murder of reporter Jamal Khashoggi. He has denied any involvement.

CNN has reached out to reps for Ansari for comment.

Up next in Saudi Arabia controversies? In December, there’s a music festival in Riyahd called Soundstorm. Post Malone and Benson Boone are currently booked to headline.