'Weird Al' Yankovic says he walked away from a seven-figure comedy festival offer in Saudi Arabia
"I’m not dissing anybody that took the money because I’m sure everybody that went there got a lot of money. I’m sure they had their own reasons and justifications for doing it. "Whenever there’s repressive societies like this, they try to keep things out — whether it’s rock ‘n’ roll music or blue jeans — because it makes people curious about outside ideas, outside values.
- ▪"I’m not dissing anybody that took the money because I’m sure everybody that went there got a lot of money.
- ▪I’m sure they had their own reasons and justifications for doing it.
- ▪"Whenever there’s repressive societies like this, they try to keep things out — whether it’s rock ‘n’ roll music or blue jeans — because it makes people curious about outside ideas, outside values.
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Comedy 'Weird Al' Yankovic says he walked away from a seven-figure comedy festival offer in Saudi Arabia The Grammy-winning parody artist said accepting Saudi money made him 'feel icky' in an interview with the Tribune-Review By Julia Bonavita Fox News Published July 25, 2026 3:20pm EDT Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video Bill Maher calls out Dave Chappelle for downplaying free speech in America while at Saudi comedy festival "Real Time" host Bill Maher criticized comedian Dave Chappelle on Friday for his comments downplaying free speech in America during his performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia last week.
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