Trevor Noah_ Is US Free Speech Actually Worse Than Saudi Arabia's_ _ Comedy Stand Up

It's the greatest city on earth. He's here, you New York. I think we're going to have to roll, Will. We'll be good, we'll be good. Why, what's up? No, because of time. We wrap it up, you know. Time-wise, we got to roll. Why, you want me to do something else? Or you want to talk about something? I always pick on you, so what's on your mind? What do you want to talk about? I'm not sure if you heard, so there's a bunch of comics that went to Saudi Arabia, and then there was their comic book. And there's some comics talking ----, and there's other comics like, well, I got to get this money, you know what I'm saying? Weren't you one of the comics who went to Saudi Arabia? Oh, man. Yeah, it was a whole... How many was it in the end? Was it like 50, or did it start as 50, and then... Yeah. It was huge, though, right? It was Saudi Arabia's first comedy festival, I think, the Riyadh Comedy Festival. And they had a bunch of comedians go out there. It's been all over the news. I've seen people arguing about it on TikTok. It's like, let me tell you what I think about what's happening. I don't know. It's an interesting one. I'll start with this. Like, when you know what Saudi Arabia is all about, it's weird to go to a comedy festival that is paid for by Saudi Arabia. You know what I mean? And this is what I mean. There's a difference. I'm all for going anywhere to perform for anyone because there are people who live in countries that don't agree with what their countries are doing. So I don't assume that everybody who lives in a country is the same as the people running the country, right? That's the first thing. But when the government is paying you to come, that's like a direct relationship that's different. Does that make sense? It changes up. And I don't know, man. Like, Saudi Arabia, you're like, damn. You just do a cursory search. You don't even have to, like, dig deep. You don't have to go do your research. The things that Saudi Arabia does, you know what I mean? You see all the comedians who went. It was like Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, Louis C.K. Like, it was like a whole bunch. Aziz Ansari. You know what I mean? I'm friends with all of these guys. Like, I'm just like... But they went to Saudi. And I'm like, if you search Saudi, you see the things that happen there, right? Government is on some, like, almost dictator-level ----, right? Like, you say the wrong thing, you get disappeared in a moment. Like, it's just like, one minute, your family knows where you are, and then they don't. Women, like, don't have control over their own bodies. Free speech is limited. Violence is the order of the day. I don't know, man. Like, I don't think I'd ever perform in Saudi Arabia. I would only perform in the United States. Because that would never happen here, Will. That would never happen here. Could you imagine what would happen if America announced that they were just, like, scooping people up and just, like, disappearing them? Can you imagine? These here United States, Will? Can you imagine if one day they were just like, oh, women, oh, men control your bodies. Can you imagine that, Will? That is why I perform in America, Will. I don't judge anybody, to be honest with you, especially in these types of things. Because I think, number one, everyone has a number. Number two, people like to judge depending on the position that they're in. So, someone was like, oh, would you go to Saudi? I'm like, I wouldn't say no, but I wouldn't say yes. It would have to be an amount of money that makes me not care. No, I'm being honest with you. It would have to be an amount of money that makes me not care about everything else that I'm gonna lose. That's the honest truth. So, like, every person who would be disappointed in me, I would have to have an amount for what that's worth in my life. So then if somebody said to me, they're like, I'm disappointed in you, in my head I'd be like, 10,000. Every time that would happen, I would just like have that little number. I'd be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, this is already paid for, this is fine. But if it's not that kind of money, then no, like, I personally wouldn't do it if it's not that kind of money. But I also think there's a little bit of like, I don't know, I'm so conflicted on this. Because look, on the one hand, I get what people are saying. Some people are like, oh, it's comedy washing and the sports washing and, you know, Saudi is, they're trying to get people to come in to launder their image. And I go, but is it laundering their image? Because there's a lot of people who didn't really follow Saudi or care about it that now know about what Saudi is doing because these people went there. And I argue sometimes it's the people going there that makes you now go like, where are you going? What's happening there? What are you doing there? And it's like, now Saudi's like, ah, we just snuck away, we were playing golf, we were enjoying ourselves. It is also crazy how like comedians will take the most smoke in the day and age that we live in, right? Like the president of the United States goes to Saudi, dances with them. People just like, yeah, you gotta do what you gotta do, you know? You gotta make fun, you gotta get your allies. Live golf, Saudi, huh? Best golfers in the world. Formula One goes to Saudi, you name it. Everyone goes, comedians, how could they? You're like the bastions of free speech. You cannot say anything you want in Saudi. How could you go there? That's a very American point of view. I'm gonna let you know now, right? And it is a privilege. You should keep that point of view, but it's a very American one. Because in many countries around the world, you can't just say whatever you want when you're performing or when you're there. You know, like many. Singapore, you know what I'm talking about, yeah? Malaysia in the house as well, you know what I'm talking about? No, there's a lot of places. Look, even when I was in India, we were doing shows, you and I were in India, and this is not like a law, I'm not saying this is a law, but when we were in India, people would come up to me and they're like, so Trevor, are you going to make jokes about Modi? I'd be like, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister? They're like, yes. Are you going to make jokes about him? And I'd be like, hmm. I mean, if I see something funny, they're like, okay, okay. And I'm like, why, why? Should I not make jokes? No, no, you can make jokes about Modi. You can, you can. Then we're going to see what happens afterwards. That's going to be the show after the show. It's almost perfect comedy timing that this happened now, right? Because had this comedy festival happened at any other time, I think America as an idea would have had more of a leg to stand on as a moral authority, right? But like, this is the same country where a few weeks ago, you know, Jimmy Kimmel gets kicked off his show for not making, by the way, he didn't even make a joke. I went back to look for the joke that they said, there is no joke. He just had a comment about something that he didn't feel was appropriate. And whether he's wrong or right, but it wasn't even a joke. He said nothing about Charlie Kirk. The joke wasn't about, nothing. And they were like, gone, right? Same country, same country where hundreds of people have been fired for saying anything about Charlie Kirk post him being shot, anything. People getting fired from companies, you in your private life say some ---- and then your company fires you because they're like, Charlie Kirk, Charlie Kirk. Here's the thing, people are like, oh, what do you think? Charlie Kirk to me is like, okay, someone got shot. It's not great. I didn't wish for it. But now you can't like terrorize your population if they dare to say something about the thing. Do you know what I mean? This is the same country where people make jokes about Abraham Lincoln being shot. Which I think is like ranks higher. But people will make jokes. This is literally, America was the place where I learned the joke where they were like, ah, but other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? That's the joke. Yeah, you know it. And it's crazy, but that's what makes America such a fascinating place is that you can make those jokes. You know, it's like people made the jokes about Kennedy. JFK, like after he was assassinated, people were like, oh yeah. Like, I'm never buying a drop top. You know what I mean? And some people are like, oh, I don't like it. It's in bad taste. Yeah, but that's what jokes can be. They can be in bad taste. Like that's why this room has no windows. You know what I mean? It's supposed to be us understanding that you're saying a thing that may or may not be real in bad taste. And it's like an outlet. It's like UFC. Everything has context, right? People punch each other in the street. They go to jail. You put a cage around them and Joe Rogan on the side screaming. It's a $6 billion event. You know? So I mean, I don't know. It's like, it's not one of those things where I go, it's binary. And maybe spending more time in South Africa has helped me think like that now again. It's like, it's not just binary. It's easy to say all the comedians who went there are sellouts and you can pay them. Yeah, but everyone has that in some way, shape or form. Everyone, everyone, everyone, everyone. Everyone in entertainment that you know, they can't go and trash their TV station or the people who own it or they'll get fired by the business. That's how it'll work, right? You can't say what you want right now in America about Donald Trump even, right? There's people who get to the border. They look through their phones. If they've made any jokes on their social media or any ---- about Donald Trump, you're out. You're out. They look through your phones. I now, because of that, just to be safe, I used AI and I made nudes of Trump. And then I've texted it to my friends being like, God damn, this guy's so hot. This man is so sexy. Oh man, I'm not gay, but he could get it. Oh man, I would be in that ass. Get that orange all over me, baby. Mm-mm, some of that vitamin C. Mm-mm. Yeah, because that's going to be hard for them. What are they going to do? Are they going to kick me out? What are they going to do? Let me see your phone. And then they'll take my phone and be like, oh, you messaged about Trump. Let's see what you, huh. Huh. Uh, sir, this guy texted a lot about Trump. What did he say? Uh, he said he'd smash. That's what he said. I think that's a good thing. That gets like, oh man. I also think there's something that Saudis are doing the other way around in the direction that they're going. I've never been pro-Mohammad bin Salman, and you know, it's like, whatever. I just do think sometimes there's a little bit of like Western, you know, superiority. Like, they'll be like, he had a man killed. One man? Yo, every American president. You know how many people have been killed by America with no due process at all? Just like you're just driving, and then all of a sudden a drone is just like, hello. Everyone. Doesn't matter which president. I'm not even pointing. Republican, Democrat, does not matter. Doesn't matter. You'd be like, oh, George Bush did that. Yeah, so did Obama. He was like, uh, bye-bye. You'd be like, but those people were terrorists. Yeah, but some of them we don't even know because there was literally no court case, no nothing. So can you say anything? Can you, you know, it all depends. So I think they might be going in the right direction. Again, I'm not saying that it's good. I'm just saying they might be going in the right direction because one of the first things you lose, funny enough, in an authoritarian regime is comedy. It's a crazy trend that you can follow throughout time. Go to Russia, South Africa, right? When I was, literally when I was growing up until I was six years old, maybe even like closer to 10, free speech wasn't a thing. You couldn't just say whatever you wanted. There was no stand-up comedy in South Africa. It was, because you'd go to jail, right? The few white comedians who dared to say something about the government went to jail. Black comedians, you couldn't even do that. There was a rule in the country. Three or more people were gathered. They considered that a political event, and then you were just arrested. You couldn't even like start your show. You guys haven't, ah ----, I gotta go. But like, it's actually interesting how that's the first thing that goes in a country, you know, is the comedy. Vladimir Putin, one of the first things he did when he came to power was he shut down a puppet show that was very popular in Russia and Eastern Europe that used to poke fun at world leaders. And one of the first things he did was he had that show and the whole station shut down. Because comedy has this weird thing about it, man. I don't know, and I don't like to inflate it because it's supposed to be goofy. It's supposed to be stupid, right? But that stupidity butts up against the terror that you're often feeling with an authoritarian. You know what I mean? It's like Charlie Chaplin. The troops in the war said that Charlie Chaplin and his movie, The Dictator, where he played Hitler as like this goofy dude, they said that was the first time they thought of Hitler as an idiot. Because before then, everyone was just like, Hitler's going to take over the world. You couldn't do anything to Hitler. And then they saw that movie and they were like, oh, this guy's goofy. That mustache is kind of weird. And that literally gave people hope. They were like, oh, if we can laugh at that thing, then maybe we can beat it. So in a weird way, I almost feel like Saudi's moving in the right direction. I'm not saying they're there yet, but they're moving in the right direction. You're having all the comedians. People are like, oh, but you can't say this about the real thing. Yeah, okay, fine. But you're still moving in the right direction. They used to have comedy shows where men and women were separated, and now the audiences are mixed from what they were, right? Yeah, audiences are mixed from what I understand. So again, not perfect, but moving in the right direction. Meanwhile, here, comedians are shitting themselves. Don't say anything about Charlie Kirk. I wasn't going to say anything about, yeah, but don't say anything about Charlie. I wasn't going to say anything about Charlie Kirk, but don't. There's nothing funny about it. Oh, now you've tested me. I mean, there's nothing funny about it. You can't say there's nothing funny about it. No, there's nothing fun. No, don't say that because as a comedian, I'll be like, I'm sure there's something funny about it. The guy was shot while defending guns. Do you understand how? I'm not even writing that as a joke. As a human, you have to admit that is an incongruous funny thing that happens. You are there. You're like on stage, and you're like, let me tell you why people should have guns. Wa-pa! That would be like if the captain of the Titanic was giving an impassioned speech about icebergs. Right before it happened. He was just there, and he's like, I'll tell you why icebergs are not as bad as people say. Wa-pa! The whole thing is ridiculous. I don't think there's anything funny about it, but don't now, like, fight me. You can't, don't say anything. There's nothing. That's what comedians, that's literally what comedians do. That's the whole point of it. There's nothing funny about most things in our lives. Nothing funny about death. Nothing funny about life. Nothing funny about struggling. No, that's the whole point of it, is to find a moment of solace. There's nothing funny. Don't you dare make a joke. I wasn't gonna make a joke about Charlie Kirk. It wasn't even like in my zeitgeist in that way, but don't, there's nothing funny. Oh, but there is. You keep saying that, and you're gonna make me find the funny. I don't want to find the funny, but you're forcing it now. You're forcing it now. It is pretty crazy that like America's response to the guy getting shot was to limit speech instead of limiting the thing that ended his life. You know what I mean? It's pretty crazy to me. That's one of the wildest responses I've ever seen in my life. What happened to Charlie Kirk? He got shot. All right, tell people to shut up. We gotta get some word control out in these streets. What about guns? Oh, guns had nothing to do with this. No one even brought up the concept of like, ah man, maybe people at home shouldn't have a gun where you can shoot somebody from like a rooftop away. Maybe. No, no, this was just like, can you say something? Can you not say something? Let me tell you something. Jokes will never kill you. Never. There's no joke that can kill you. Every comedian is trying. Every comedian. Our dream is to make a joke that will kill one of you. That is our dream. They go like, what happened? Oh man, someone was at Trevor's show and then he laughed so hard and then he died. I'm like, thank you very much. Good night. That's our dream. And I'm not saying there's no speech that's inflammatory or dangerous or insightful. I'm not saying that. But what I'm saying is if I was to make a bet on how to make a society safer, if I'm going to make it safer, right? And I get to choose between words and guns, I choose guns. That's my bet. I'm not an expert on any of this, by the way. I've just found that most of the time when someone's been shot, there's been a gun. A lot of the time people have said words and they've just like walked away. So if I'm betting my money, I'm going to go with guns. It is also weird that the guy, like he wrote jokes on the bullets. That's again, a terrible and funny when you have time to think about it. Because the fact that he had to write jokes on the bullets tells you that he knew that the jokes won't do anything. He was like, I'm going to tell her if you're reading this, you're gay. And it's like, nah, it doesn't do anything. But if you put it on a bullet, oh yeah, that joke can kill now. Yeah, now that joke's a lot more effective. So how do I feel? I don't know. Maybe it's a step in the right direction. Maybe it isn't. Maybe the people are silenced. I don't know. Literally, I won't judge anyone. But I do think it's a better place to be in, right? People make it like, well, it's the worst. It's not the worst thing in the world? It's not the best? Yeah, I don't know. Maybe these are like sleeper agents. That's how you think of it, you know? Yeah, there's people who can change how you see the world. It is like the Aziz Ansari, the Kevin Hart. He can make you change anything up. Can you imagine Aziz convincing them in Saudi Arabia? Like, man, how come you guys don't? Like, I know how you guys don't let your women drive. And I'm like, dude, what the hell, man? Just let them drive. Come on. I can see them changing their laws. You know what? There's something about this guy. I like him. Oh, man. Kevin Hart on stage, busy. Like, fighting about Saudi policies. He's like, man. Man, let me tell you what I noticed. Let me tell you what I noticed about this ---- y'all doing. All the organizations y'all funded. All those organizations that you're funding. Don't fund them. Stop funding them. I think it's easy to focus on the wrong things. And I'm not saying, again, it's not a binary. I'm not saying don't focus on some things. You know, it's good to hold people accountable. I think it's nice for people to tell the comedians, they're like, hey, I didn't like that thing you did, and then go back and forth and see. What I do think is interesting, though, to go back to the comedian thing is that it's interesting how, like, especially in America now, it's like comedians don't have the latitude that, like, leaders have, right? I've seen these comedians, they'll tell a joke, and people are like, don't you dare! And then the president of the United States literally said, maybe I'll go for a third term, maybe. Maybe I will. Maybe I'll stay. And people were like, what? And then when they asked his people, they're like, yo, he said he's gonna stay for a third term. They're like, no, he's joking. I was like, oh, so he can, oh! Oh, president jokes, yeah, comedian, no! How dare you, President Dave Chappelle! So I don't know, Will. Yeah. I don't judge anyone, you know, because I think everyone will make the decision that they make. But I would hope that we just learn to focus not on the thing that everyone's showing us, but the thing that's actually happening, you know? Like, the comedians are not gonna make or break Saudi and what's happening, but the thing that's making or breaking what comedians can or cannot say in America, that's a real thing that's happening. Yeah, so for me, there's definitely a story in like, oh, all these comedians went to Saudi, and then there should be an even bigger story about, whoa, all these comedians are now gonna go to America. Whoa! Good luck to them. You guys have been fun, man. Thanks for coming out tonight. Have a great night. Thanks for coming out.