"There's a lot of people that say people are getting paid by this Middle Eastern money right, you know, and that they can say this, or they can't say that or that they are over there, they're going to try to influence you guys in order to speak certain ways,"
"I've heard there's subreddits of like, 'I think all these people are in bed with that.' I just, you know, I get the routing, and then I see the number, and I go, 'I'll go,'"
"I've been getting a little bit of flak just because my dad died (in) 9/11. So they're like, 'How could you possibly go there?'"
Pete Davidson is standing by his decision to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival despite his father, New York City firefighter Scott Davidson, being killed responding to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Scott Davidson served with Ladder Company 118 in Brooklyn Heights and was 33 when he died; Pete was seven years old at the time. Davidson, 31, is one of 50 comedians at the festival, which runs Sept. 26 to Oct. 9 and features acts such as Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart and Aziz Ansari. Critics have raised concerns about Saudi influence and payment of performers, and Human Rights Watch accused Saudi Arabia of using the festival to deflect attention from repression of free speech. Davidson said he sees the routing and payment number and chooses to go, and that he has faced flak because of his father's death.
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