Now Nabil Abdulrashid plays Riyadh Comedy Festival
BGT comedian makes an appearance and Saudis' 'jokewashing' event
Nabil Abdulrashid has performed at the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival, Chortle can reveal.
The comedian has not been listed as performing and has not mentioned his trip to the Saudi capital on social media.
However a montage of footage from the festival posted on to Instagram briefly shows him on stage on Sunday night. Maz Jobrani and Chris Distefano also feature:
Abdulrashid’s agent confirmed he had taken part but told Chortle that he wouldn’t be commenting on his appearance.
He joins fellow Brits Jimmy Carr, Jack Whitehall and Omid Djalili and Irish comic Jimeoin on the festival, which has been accused of attempting to ‘jokewash’ the Saudi regime’s human right record.
David Cross has become the latest comedian to call out his colleagues who took the Saudi money – cited as between $375,000 (£278,000) and $1.6million (£1.2million) for those doing solo shows.
Writing on Instagram, Cross said: ‘I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing. That people I admire, with unarguable talent, would condone this totalitarian fiefdom for…what, a fourth house? A boat? More sneakers?
‘We can never again take seriously anything these comedians complain about (unless it’s complaining that we don’t support enough torture and mass executions of journalists and LGBQT peace activists here in the states, or that we don’t terrorize enough Americans by flying planes into our buildings).
Cross – who said he wasn’t approached to perform – went on to say: ‘These are some of my HEROES! Now look, some of you folks don't stand for anything so you don't have any credibility to lose, but my god, Dave [Chappelle] and Louie [CK] and Bill [Burr], and Jim [Jefferies]?
‘Clearly you guys don't give a shit about what the rest of us think, but how can any of us take any of you seriously ever again? All of your bitching about "cancel culture" and "freedom of speech" and all that shit? Done. You don't get to talk about it ever again. By now we've all seen the contract you had to sign.’
Atsuko Okatsuka – who declined to take part – revealed details of the contract comedian were asked to sign at the seeking, saying they should not ridicule the Saudi leadership, public figures, culture, people, royal family, legal system, government or religion.’
Abdulrashid 40-year-old Londoner shot to fame when he appeared on Britain's Got Talent in 2020 and got a Golden Buzzer from Alesha Dixon.
His jokes about police treatment of black people and ‘angry far-right guys’ attracted more than 3,000 complaints – which regulator Ofcom rejected.
He said at the time that he had got death threats over the appearance, saying: ‘They complained because we said black lives matter - thousands of complaints. To be honest I'm shocked that many of them know how to write… We just tell jokes about our lives because they matter - right?’
Abdulrashid has since appeared on the likes of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Have I Got News For You, The Last Leg, QI and Live At The Apollo, where he has performed twice, including once as host.
Born in London, Abdulrashid grew up in up in Nigeria – where his father is from – before moving back to Croydon as a young man. He’s been diagnosed with ADHD and is a practising Muslim who took part in BBC Two’s Pilgrimage show in 2023.
Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, has said: ‘Comedians performing in Riyadh should speak out against Saudi Arabia’s serious rights abuses or they risk bolstering the Saudi government’s well-funded efforts to launder its image.
‘This whitewashing comes amid a significant increase in repression, including a crackdown on free speech, which many of these comedians defend but people in Saudi Arabia are completely denied.’
None of the British or Irish comics taking part have commented on their appearance at the festival or even acknowledged it, apart from Djalili whose X profile states that his Riyadh show tomorrow is sold out.
The festival line-up also includes Aziz Ansari, Hannibal Buress, Pete Davidson, Russell Peters, Kevin Hart, Andrew Schulz, Andrew Santino & Bobby Lee, Chris Tucker, Gabriel Iglesias, Jessica Kirson, Jo Koy, Mark Normand, Nimesh Patel, Sam Morril, Sebastian Maniscalco, Tom Segura, Whitney Cummings, Zarna Garg.
Published: 30 Sep 2025
