Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka posts contract after turning down Riyadh Comedy Festival

Okatsuka posted the censorship rules for the controversial comedy festival, noting how many "You can’t say anything anymore!" comedians have signed on.

By William Hughes | September 27, 2025 | 1:51pm

Atsuko Okatsuka, Photo: HBO

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Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka posts contract after turning down Riyadh Comedy Festival

Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival kicked off this weekend—and with it, increasingly vocal criticisms of comedians who have opted to participate in a state-sponsored comedy fest from a state whose report cards from groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have a whole lot of “Needs improvement, can’t seem to stop consigning migrant workers to forced labor” notes penciled in in the comments section. Earlier this week, we reported on comics like Marc Maron and Shane Gillis opening up about their concerns about the festival. (Which sees some of the biggest comedy names on the planet, including Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Louis CK, and more, taking the trip out into the desert for what were reportedly very lucrative paychecks.) Now more comics, including Zach Woods and Atsuko Okatsuka, have weighed in—with Okatsuka even revealing the contract she was sent about a possible appearance, including rules about what participants won’t be able to say during their appearances at the fest.

Per Deadline, Okatsuka posted about the festival on Threads this weekend, writing, “FYI there are more of us that said no to the Riyadh comedy festival in Saudi Arabia.” In her post, Okatsuka also posted the list of things comedians have been told they weren’t allowed to talk about, including jokes “that may be considered to degrade, defame, or bring into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, embarrassment, or ridicule” Saudi Arabia, its ruling government, royal family, or any religion or religious figure, period. Okatsuka also takes time to point out that “The money is coming straight from the Crown Prince, who actively executes journalists, ppl with nonlethal drug offenses, bloggers, etc without due process. A lot of the ‘you can’t say anything anymore!’ Comedians are doing the festival 😂 they had to adhere to censorship rules about the types of jokes they can make.” (Worth noting that comedian Tim Dillon has said he was kicked out of the festival for a response video he made about accepting the gig, joking, “So what, they have slaves?”)