Pete Davidson Reveals Why He Performed In Saudi Arabia After Seeing 'The Number' Despite Backlash

Pete Davidson defended performing at Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Comedy Festival despite backlash over his father's 9/11 death.

The comedian hinted at his reasons as he discussed being part of the controversial show for the opportunity and the pay.

Critics of the comedy festival include Shane Gillis and Marc Maron, who accused Saudi Arabia of using the event to distract from its human rights abuses, while others, such as Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr, defended participating, citing the importance of free speech.

Pete Davidson is defending his choice to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, more than twenty years after losing his father, firefighter Scott Davidson, in the September 11 attacks.

Scott, a member of Brooklyn's Ladder Company 118, was 33 when he died responding to the World Trade Center. Pete was only seven at the time.

Now 31, the comedian and former "Saturday Night Live" star is part of a stacked lineup of 50 performers at the festival, which runs from September 26 to October 9. The event features some of comedy's biggest names, including Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari, and Whitney Cummings.

Speaking on Theo Von's "This Past Weekend" podcast on September 23, Pete addressed criticism surrounding his participation.

When asked about conspiracy theories suggesting entertainers are influenced by "Middle Eastern money," he brushed off the idea, saying, "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."

He admitted some backlash has come from people who point to his father's death.

"I've been getting a little bit of flak just because my dad died (in) 9/11," he said, per Fox News Digital. "So they're like, 'How could you possibly go there?"

Pete has been open about how his father's death in the 9/11 attacks shaped his life and mental health.

The comedian once said that using dark humor became his way of coping with grief and finding strength to move forward.

In a 2015 New York Times interview, Pete shared that the trauma from losing his dad caused severe distress during childhood, admitting he would "rip out his hair until he was bald."

"It was overwhelming," the comedian recalled.

Speaking on CBS Mornings in 2020, Pete reflected on how the loss changed him: "Oh, yeah, absolutely. One of my best friends is forever gone."

During a 2023 episode of Jon Bernthal's "Real Ones" podcast, Pete revealed that his mother, Amy, didn't immediately tell him the truth about his father's death. He was seven at the time and only learned what happened by turning on the TV.

"My dad told me he was going to pick me up on 9/11," Pete said, per Fox News Digital. "I got picked up by my mom. She didn't tell me what was going on for like three days. She kept telling me dad's at work, I had no idea. My mom's like, 'You're just grounded, you're not allowed to watch TV."

He added, "I was like, 'What? I didn't do anything.' And then one night I turned on the TV and I saw my dad on TV. They're like, 'These are all the firefighters who are dead."

In a statement released on September 23, Human Rights Watch criticized Saudi Arabia for hosting the Riyadh Comedy Festival, claiming the event is an attempt to "deflect attention from its brutal repression of free speech and other pervasive human rights violations."

Several comedians have also spoken out against the festival, arguing that the country is using it to improve its global image while ignoring serious allegations of repression.

On the "Matt and Shane's Secret" Podcast, comedian Shane Gillis revealed that he turned down a "significant" offer to perform at the event — even after organizers doubled the payment. "I took a principled stand," he said. "You don't 9/11 your friends."

Fellow comedian Marc Maron, who wasn't invited to perform, also mocked the festival's lineup during a recent stand-up set, referencing both 9/11 and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. "I mean, how do you even promote that?" he joked. Like, 'From the folks that brought you 9/11, two weeks of laughter in the desert. Don't miss it!"

Meanwhile, "Silicon Valley" actor Zach Woods joined the criticism on Instagram, posting a satirical video pretending to promote the festival while calling out comedians for "whore themselves out to dictators."

Despite the backlash, several comedians have defended their decision to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Some pointed to free speech limitations in the U.S.; others viewed it as a chance to connect with audiences in a conservative society.

During his set, Dave Chappelle remarked, "Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you'll get canceled. It's easier to talk here than it is in America."

Comedian Jim Jefferies, speaking with Theo Von last month, took a pragmatic stance: "One reporter was killed by the (Saudi) government — unfortunate, but not a f-cking hill that I'm gonna die on."

Meanwhile, Bill Burr described his experience performing in Riyadh as "mind-blowing." On his podcast, he admitted he had preconceived fears about the region.

"You think everybody's going to be screaming 'Death to America' and they're going to have like f-cking machetes and want to chop my head off. Because this is what I've been fed about that part of the world," he said. "They just wanted to laugh."