Comic also tells Louis Theroux about enjoying his own freedom of speech to make transgressive jokes

Jimmy Carr has broken his silence about performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival this autumn.

At the time, the comedian initially declined to comment on taking part in the event – which critics saw as an attempt by the authoritarian Saudi regime to ‘jokewash’ its poor human rights record, especially in silencing those who speak out against its rulers.

But speaking on the latest episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast released today, Carr said he ‘loved’ playing Riyadh and suggested that performing there was a way of embracing diversity.

He added: ‘I think we need to give up on the idea that the Middle East becomes Western Europe. The Middle East is a very different place. And the same people that will tell you diversity is our strength will tell you, "don't go there, they’re not like us."

‘The thing that I like about Saudi Arabia is the direction of travel. Look at where it was 10 years ago. Look at where it is now. The direction of travel is pretty good. They kind of want to be Dubai, which… you could have said this about Dubai 25 years ago. "Don't go there, they’re not like us". 

‘And you go, "it's a different culture. It's a different way of conducting a society."  So the idea of going, "don't go there because they're not like us." Well, I play 50 countries around the world. I'll go where the audience are.’

Comics were reportedly paid between £250,000 and £1million to play the event, and when Theroux asked Carr what he was paid, the comic replied: ‘I was paid, I would say a commensurate amount with selling out an 8,000-seater room. So it's a big room. I didn't "get paid", I earned it, is what happened’

Carr was also asked about his relationship with libertarian Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, who is something of a bête noire of the liberal Left

The comedian said: ‘I like Jordan a lot. I think Jordan is trying to help. He's very authentic. He just says what he thinks. I think he's a good guy. I mean, a lot of people think he's the worst, you know. 

‘I see him when we're in the same city. We'll have dinner, he'll come to a show.’

Theroux said: ‘For many, he's viewed as a sort of manosphere figure, which I think is overstated. You know, the idea that, "oh, he's like Andrew Tate".’

‘That's, that's fucking lunacy,’ Carr said

When Theroux pointed out ‘he's said a few things, partly I think it's a symptom of being overactive on Twitter or X’, Carr countered: ‘To conflate those two just seems, that seems quite mad to me. It feels like that's kind of a concept creep. If you put everyone in the same brackets, it loses meaning.

‘I'm not signing off on everything he's ever said, but I think if you are a young man in search of something, I'd say he's quite a positive force.’

Carr was also asked about  the backlash to a joke he made on his 2022 Netflix special  His Dark Material.

In a section of bad-taste jokes called ‘Career Enders’ he said: ‘When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy and horror of 6 million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of Gypsies that were killed by the Nazis. No one ever wants to talk about that, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives.’

He was heavily criticised by the Roma community and the Culture Secretary at the time,  Nadine Dorries, said the comments were ‘abhorrent and they just shouldn't be on television’.

The pair discussed how Dorries had sometimes taken the view ‘left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy’ – but in that case considered  Carr's joke ‘not comedy’.

Although the controversy made the news and led to questions in Parliament, Carr shrugged it off, saying: 'I've had that a few times. Other people's opinion about me is none of my business. That's the line. That's what you've got to remember.’

Asked about  Netflix’s response he said: ‘Netflix are like, "yeah, do your thing. We signed you up. This will be great. Do your thing"… You seriously think the guys at Netflix give a fuck about Nadine Dorries?’

He said that Netflix is all about ‘serving the artist’ and when they are put under pressure to take stuff down their response is: ‘No, no, that's not what we are about.’

Carr – who studied sociology at Cambridge – said he doesn’t believe in the ‘punching up, punching down dynamic’ in comedy: calling it ‘Marxist, neo-Marxist’ thinking and adding:‘I don't buy into... the idea that the world is on power dynamics and you're punching up or punching down.

‘You're in the service industry. You're trying to make 2,000 people laugh for two hours straight, is what you're trying to do… I like the idea of being an equal opportunities offender and going, ‘You're not going after anyone. You're just joking about all of these things.’ And anything that's a sacred cow, there's going to be tension around that. And you want to release that tension.’

He added: ‘Freedom of speech, you have to defend what you don't like as well as what you like. You can't just defend the stuff you like. [Dave] Chappelle had a great take on this, which was as comedians, the joke that makes you roll around laughing and you tell your friends, you can't wait to tell your friends is the best joke in the world. And the joke that offends you and you think is disgusting comes from the same place. We're trying to make you laugh, trying to lighten the load of life a little bit.’

However he accepted he had to ‘deal with the consequences’ of any of his jokes. ‘If you're going to say [something], you've got to be willing to say it and go, yeah, I don't regret telling that joke. That's fine. Some people really were upset by it. That's okay. 

‘I've got the people who come and see me and they really like that stuff and I've got to serve them. Not someone else, not Nadine Dorries or whatever… I don't give a fuck what she thinks.

Asked if he’d ever lost work over a joke, Carr replied: ‘I suppose it's that thing of going, how much more successful could I be, were I to cut out the 10 per cent most offensive stuff? I could have been a bigger mainstream hit, yeah, probably. But I don't want to be a grifter. I don't want to sell you something that I wouldn't buy myself. If I'm not for me, who is?’

‘I like stuff that's a bit transgressive. I think at this point, if someone comes to one of my shows and gets offended, I'm like, "Wow. You know, buyer beware". If you buy tickets to a horror movie and then you complain and you're scared. Whose fault is that though?’ 

Theroux also asked Carr about ‘the most mind-blowing thing in [his] book, ‘ – that he was a virgin until the age of 26.

Carr said: ‘I think it's very good to talk about this because I think there is a lot of pressure on young men to lose their virginity and feel like it's that weird thing at the moment where the world is divided into harems and peepholes. It's a very small percentage of men getting all the girls and everyone else is hopelessly addicted to porn.

‘I think it's very good to be open about it and say, not everyone develops at the same time. I was enmeshed with my mother and maybe that was, a part of it. I'm sure that's what a psychotherapist would say. 

‘I don't think you're very attractive when you are in your early twenties to women. Because really if you had to summarise what women find attractive, it's competence. Being good at something, Guys get attractive around 30. They start to get good at something. It seems like it's shallow, but I don't think it is.’

He also acknowledged that being a committed Christian had an effect, but argued: ‘It's not a race…. it feels like there's a perception that everyone else is having more fun than you. I think now more than ever with social media, the comparison is the thief of joy. Everyone is having a fucking amazing time online.’

And he said he’d tell his  younger self: ‘This is great. Just do this. You'll like who you are, don't worry’. 

‘Losing my virginity 26 makes me what? The OG incel. But  there's another side of that where you go, "I've had an amazing life." So, you can’t pick and choose.’

• The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify now.

Published: 16 Dec 2025