Comedian Bill Burr is defending his performance at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival. The A-list celebrity, and others like Dave Chappelle, Pete Davidson and Kevin Hart, has received backlash from peers for performing in a country that is criticized for its human rights record .

Held in Saudi Arabia’s capital city, the debut Riyadh Comedy Festival, which kicked off Sept. 26 and runs to Oct. 9, is billed as " the biggest comedy festival in the world ." Louis C.K. , Tom Segura, Sebastian Maniscalco and others round out the lineup of more than 50 performers.

Human Rights Watch, a global human rights organization, claims the festival is diverting attention from allegations of the government’s severe repression of free speech directed at its citizens, while comedians, who eith

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