Aziz Ansari was among a handful of top American comedians to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which started on Friday, Sept. 26, and ran through Thursday, Oct. 9, in the Saudi Arabian capital.
In addition to Ansari, Dave Chappelle,Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, Andrew Schulz, Jo Koy, Jessica Kirson, Jimmy Carr, and Louis C.K. also performed at the festival despite backlash from comedians and human rights groups about the choice to perform.
Last month, while appearing on Theo Vonn's podcast This Past Weekend w/ Theo Vonn, Davidson said his decision to perform at the festival had everything to do with money.
"I've heard there's subreddits of like, 'I think all these people are in bed with that.' I just, you know, I get the routing, and then I see the number, and I go, 'I'll go,'" Davidson explained.
Jimmy Kimmel Asks Aziz Ansari About Decision to Perform in Riyadh
When Ansari was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, Oct. 7, Kimmel brought up the performance.
"This is something that’s become a big part of the news because people, a lot of comedians especially, are very upset, because the people who paid the comedians to come to this are not good people. It’s a pretty brutal regime. They’ve done a lot of horrible, horrible things," Kimmel began.
He continued, “People are questioning why you would go over there and take their money to perform in front of these people. I’m curious because you were there. You made this decision. I'm curious as to why you decided to do that."
Ansari answered carefully, telling Kimmel that it was "something I put a lot of thought into," explaining that he asked his aunt, who "lived there for a while," and sharing what his aunt told him and how it impacted his decision.
He explained that his aunt told him, "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."
Related: Seth Rogen and Aziz Ansari Swap Places in 'Good Fortune'
He continued, "Just like there’s people in America that don’t agree with the things the government is doing."
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As Kimmel pressed, Ansari continued to explain, "I was just there to do a show for the people." He also shared that he received input from his wife, whom he said reminded him, "Whenever there's repressive societies like they try to keep things out, whether it's rock and roll music or blue jeans, 'cause it makes people curious about outside ideas, outside values..."
Ansari continued, explaining that Saudi Arabia is "a very young country, like half the country is under the age of 25, and things can really change. And to me, a comedy festival felt like something that's pushing things to be more open and to push a dialogue and you kind of have to make a choice of whether you're going to isolate or engage."
Related: Jimmy Kimmel Tells Seth Rogen: 'You Are Indeed Banned From Presenting At The Emmys'
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