As comedians from Bill Burr to Kevin Hart were slammed for performing at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival, Dave Chappelle said the Middle Eastern nation is actually more suitable for stand-up than the United States.

During his headlining set, the "Chappelle's Show" star emphasized that comedians face far greater scrutiny in the U.S., the New York Times reported. He specifically mentioned the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and how people were condemned for comments made about him.

"Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, you’ll get canceled," Chappelle said, according to the Times. "I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out."

The 52-year-old Washington, D.C. native reportedly said he was nervous about returning to the U.S. because "they’re going to do something to me so that I can’t say what I want to say."

"It’s easier to talk here than it is in America," he added.

His set comes after ABC briefly suspended Jimmy Kimmel's late night talk show following outrage over comments made regarding Kirk's murder. Disney, ABC as well as affiliate companies Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Nexstar Media Group have since stopped preempting "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" which has returned to airing five days a week.

Chappelle is among multiple comics who faced backlash for performing in Saudi Arabia, which has been criticized for its human rights record.

Global organization Human Rights Watch accused the festival of diverting attention away from allegations of the government’s severe repression of free speech and criticized comedians for performing on the behest of an oppressive regime.

The festival was also slammed for overlapping with the seventh anniversary of the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi national and U.S. resident who was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018.

Fellow comedian Burr defended his Riyadh performance in a Sept. 29 episode of his "Monday Morning Podcast" calling it one of the "top three experiences" of his career.

"It was great to experience that part of the world and to be a part of the first comedy festival over there in Saudi Arabia," he said. "The royals loved the show. Everyone was happy. The people that were doing the festival were thrilled."

Chappelle is no stranger to controversy. His 2021 Netflix special "The Closer," received backlash over remarks about transgender people, and his 2023 special "The Dreamer" made jabs about disabled people including Madison Cawthorn, a paraplegic and former North Carolina Republican representative.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dave Chappelle says comedy is 'easier' in Saudi Arabia than US, mentions Charlie Kirk

Reporting by Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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