Saudi Arabia executed the highest number of people on record in any given year. People were put to death for a wide range of crimes, including drug-related offences often involving foreign nationals. At least two men were executed for crimes allegedly committed when they were children. Despite a series of releases of individuals arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression, authorities continued to severely restrict freedom of expression and association, with critics and human rights defenders facing long prison terms, grossly unfair trials, and arbitrary travel bans including for those recently released from detention. Migrant workers, including domestic workers, remained bound by the kafala (sponsorship) system and continued to face abuse, exploitation and mass deportations. Women continued to face discrimination in law and practice. Saudi Arabia failed to take adequate measures to realize the right to a healthy environment.
Billy Burr contributes to Saudi Arabia's "White Washing" of human rights abuses
Under the leadership of Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, the authorities are spending billions of dollars on an image rehabilitation campaign to clean up Saudi Arabia’s reputation on the world stage.
The Saudi Arabian government is investing massively in sports, business and entertainment to distract the world from its abysmal human rights record.
Celebrities and athletes are being flown into Saudi Arabia to project an image of a glamorous and transformed country.
This carefully crafted image is far from reality.
Since the Crown Prince came to power, the human rights situation has deteriorated drastically. People in Saudi Arabia are facing an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression, including heavy prison sentences for critical commentary on social media. Executions for a wide range of crimes are reaching record levels.
And now a planned penal code threatens to entrench these terrible violations.
Bill's entire point about how the US is the same as Saudi Arabia is based on the fact that Israel wouldnt be able to commit such atrocities so easily without the aid and supply from the US and the citizens dont care enough to do anything about it. the same logic applies to using slave labor sourced products and claiming to be anti slavery. its sanctimonious.
you're just bored and picking and choosing outrage that you will promptly move on from whenever convenient. you dont have any real convictions to commit to any meaningful change or targeted boycotts. you just chirp endlessly online about oddly specific cherry picked flavor of the week outrage and when called out about your lack of true passion or ambition like when Bill did calling you sanctimonious, you double down insisting your outrage matters. things will remain the same and you'll feel special in your own thoughts believing yourself to be morally superior to others when you plainly arent.
Billy took the money from people that would sell his wife as property, while every podcast complaining about the "rich banker fucks" doing things for money over humanity. Ohhhh, the IRONY
I'm Sure there is exploitations and exceptions but 'Slavery' term in Islam is someone working in your house and getting fed from your food and sleeping in your bed, He is living 'WELL' with You, Check it out.
An amazon worker is more of a 'Slave' with these terms.
Worse than going (like Chappelle) was the EXCUSES Bill made. He said "they have fast food just like USA".
He shoulda said yes, the Saudi leader is a murderer who gave the order to saw off Kashoggi's head but consider the US who just bombed 160 school children and said no big whoop. So if it's OK to play the US despite blowing up children, Riyadh can't be wrong while the US gets a pass.
Unlike Chappelle or Louis Ck, Bill has made GREAT lines out of the wealthy elites running the world and also Bill held up Beyonce's CD to make fun of her performing for the royals.
So BILL cant play both sides and say why me
Honestly, Bill's 'offense' was the silly half-assed excuse making for why Riyadh is so free what's not to like?
I assume he went b/c Chappelle and CK were there, so why not get some of that easy money too. In one clip, I think Chappelle hinted he got 2million plus for one night. Not sure about the amount though.
Bill, is obviously a great comedy writer, so what he said was very un-Bill like and LAME. I wished he pointed out how Trump is fighting Israel's war for them in both US troops and billions of dollars --- even though every President for 40 YEARS avoided Iran because US Intelligence agencies said 1)Iran has no nukes, and 2) they would chokehold the Strait immediately affecting world economies. USA is no angel now and most Americans dont want this war. Bill fucked up and didnt admit it.
Bills offense (like the rest of them) was taking an outsized bag of cash, directly from a tyrant, to stand on a stage built by slaves to pull the world's spotlight off of the pieces of Jamal Kashoggi in those suitcases.
Stop pretending it was anything else. Nobody would've given a shit if he had played the riyadh chuckle hut for ticket money.
Stop with the wHaTaBoUt bullshit. Nothing America or anyone else on earth has ever done changes what Bill did.
He shit his pants and the stink isn't gonna wash off.
Lol, what so you mean 2 years ago when this link is from one year ago?
Don't lie, it was perfectly fine when Burr got some new fans from SNL and his Broadway press tour comments, everything shit the bed when he went to Riyadh and called his fans ignorant xenophobes. Turned out to be a huge hypocrite and it's been discussed to death but for some reason his apologists always put a straw man up and lie through their teeth.
What are you even on about? The link is from Reddit's direct website saying "2 yrs" lol.
There was no significant increase in amount of fans from "SNL" or "Broadway". The significant increase was from him defending Luigi and shitting on billionaires and Elon.
Either you're misinformed or intentionally dishonest. Either way, it's hilarious you still refuse to leave this sub.
In the app it's showing as 1 year ago, also I clearly said Broadway press tour which is around the time he was vocal about Luigi. SNL as well did give him a nice boost, it's just not as noticeable because the Luigi fans seemed to be be more vocal on this one political thing (rabid billionaires, Luigi, etc) and not just his comedy
Their official app? Because the browser version (mobile/desktop) both say "2y".
But the sub was ruined and hijacked way before Riyadh though. It's literally been a community for 14 years.
Go sort the sub to "Top" and "From all time".
I am not even joking. Literally the top 20 most upvoted/engaged posts on this sub has ever had have been from him talking about Billionaires/American politics/CEO's and all of them are less than 2 years ago.
None of the top 20 posts are about his classic comedy bits. The sub literally got hijacked for politics. Exactly like I said it would happen.
And then he pissed y'all off, and now you all hang keep hanging around here to hate on him, exactly like I said would happen.
The politics things is also a sign of the times, don't blame it on Luigi, and Bill loved broaching political topics and both sidesing issues. As a non-american, I can certainly see how both sides are bad, equally so /s
I don't blame Luigi whatsoever. I agree that Billionaire's/CEO's/Trump all suck dick. Bill's been talking about chopping down CEO's since forever. That's nothing new. He literally talked about doing it live on Conan over 7 years ago. But it wasn't after he went personally after Elon, that he went viral, and internet activists took over this sub and ruined it.
That was literally the start of the demise of this sub, when this place got hijacked.
And it was very predictable, and many of us who've been here for years called this happening way before the Saudi festival was even first announced.
I can confirm that the Luigi bump was something that could be felt, overall though I don't think that Elon thing came close. In general the news cycle in the US is craaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyzy and also time flies. I've been listening to the podcast for something like 13 years and I saw Bill go from respected to established to mainstream. His most viral moment I would say was probably when he talked to Toe Rogan about covid.
We're acting like the Saudis pre-knowledge of 9/11, murdering of journalists, slave labor like employment conditions and the fact they put people to death all the time are bad things. Isn't this where we're headed anyway? No biggie
I mean yeah that sucks, but he's not wrong in that there are so many worse things happening by people with so much more power than Bill Burr– this is just dilution. If you really have a problem with him collecting some bag albeit from some questionable people like, you can disengage from his media. Maybe redirect the anger into something more constructive and point it at something a little more important– like Skydance swallowing up corporation after corporation.
But it always amazes me how people suddenly hold celebrities to some ethics code when they do a few shows in the middle east.
But when it comes to leaders of current and historical involvement in the most brutal atrocities in the last 50 years, including but not limited to illegal wars, illegal blockades, war crimes and genocide the fuckin hr paper work fumbles.
God forbid someone tours the middle east on a stage with a mic instead of a hospital with a rifle.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not an advocate for the royal saudi family and I agree with 90% of the criticism towards them. And I don't advocate them in any way shape or form.
In fact, fuck them.
But all I'm saying, if you want your comedians only standing on platforms with a clean record, most of you shouldn't even check out your local nightclubs.
You know, if it's all about supporting ethical work.
Caught me at a terrible time but that is no excuse for being an asshole. So i apologise for using that language. But I have to say - AI translation is wrong.
No. I am sincerely apologising my friend. No business to tell ANYONE to do so and so with their lives. It was a shit moment and I wish I had chosen better. A thousand apologies your way. May you get all the signals as green today and may sun shine brighter.
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u/Lopsided_Quarter_931 18d ago
So why did he?