Weird Al Yankovic said he declined a seven-figure offer to perform one show at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival because accepting it made him feel “icky”. He stressed that he was not criticising artists who did take part, but said he did not need the money badly enough to compromise his own judgement.

The festival, held from 26 September to 9 October last year, featured major comedians including Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr and Louis C.K. It attracted criticism over Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record, the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi officials’ alleged links to the 9/11 attacks; Yankovic has also recently said he rejected money for an AI advertisement.