Whitney Cummings calls critics of Riyadh Comedy Festival "racist"

Cummings accused those upset with her participation in the Saudi Arabian event of ignorance and hypocrisy.

By Mary Kate Carr | October 13, 2025 | 11:20am

Screenshot: Whitney Cummings/YouTube

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Whitney Cummings calls critics of Riyadh Comedy Festival

Whitney Cummings knew addressing the topic of the Riyadh Comedy Festival on her podcast would generate headlines—”You know what, I don’t think I need to address it, you guys got it all figured out,” she said sarcastically on the latest episode of Good For You. “I guess I’m this weirdo, I don’t operate under the idea that every government and their people are the same.” The comedian went on to accuse critics of the festival of ignorance and hypocrisy. “It’s just racism,” she said, suggesting the backlash was only because the festival took place in the Middle East.

Separating the audience from the regime is a tact several of the other comedians on the Riyadh lineup have taken, including Louis C.K. and Aziz Ansari. Bill Burr characterized the backlash against him as people saying, “How dare you go to that place and make those oppressed people laugh, you fucking piece of shit. I can’t believe you went to that place. I can’t find it on a map, and this bot said I was upset about it so now I am.” Yet the criticism was less about doing comedy for an audience of Saudi citizens and more about taking money directly from the Saudi Arabian government for an event that Human Rights Watch says “whitewashes” the abuses perpetrated by that government.

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But Cummings had an answer for that, and an answer to the criticism of Riyadh coming from within the comedy world. “By the way, any comic that has ever worked with Live Nation—which is all of them—has taken Saudi money, but keep with your little rants,” she said. “When you get a sec, google ‘Saudi Arabia Live Nation’ so you can be informed on the fact that anyone who has worked with Live Nation, every stand-up comic, has taken Saudi money. … Or bought a ticket through Live Nation, went to a Live Nation event, all the actors who are represented by William Morris Agency, which is all of them. If you want to send them notes too.”

Cummings has become more political (and, often, more right-leaning) in her material recently. Her New Year’s set on CNN touched on several conspiracy theories, including bits about the Pfizer vaccine and the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. After the death of Charlie Kirk, she posted on Twitter/X that the shooter “could have done it privately but chose to do it publicly in front of kids. If you are happy about this you’re also pro child trauma.” It’s unclear if she was joking or sincere, but either way, the post garnered backlash.

“I’m trying to help you sound less racist,” Cummings shot back at her critics. She described those who took issue with her participation in the Riyadh Comedy Festival as nepo babies (“People whose dads have points on huge television shows are like, ‘I have a backup plan, a huge trust fund, you’re a sellout for making money'”), comics who wish they were invited to the festival, and “the same people who are like, if they found out a Fox journalist was murdered, they would truly throw a party.”