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Bill Maher calls out Dave Chappelle for downplaying free speech in America while at Saudi comedy festival

‘Real Time’ host Bill Maher criticized comedian Dave Chappelle for his comments downplaying free speech in America during his performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.

Stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle rejected the notion that late Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk was "this generation's Martin Luther King," arguing that, besides the fact that both were assassinated, "that's about where those similarities end."

During his latest Netflix special, "The Unstoppable," which premiered Friday, the comedian offered his opinion on the idea that Kirk was comparable to civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.

"And the Whites were quick to say this. They said, 'Charlie Kirk is this generation's Martin Luther King.' No, he's not. Yeah, that's a reach. You know, they both got murdered in a terrible fashion. They both got shot in the neck, but that's about where those similarities end," he asserted.

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Dave Chappelle hosts "Saturday Night Live" Nov. 12, 2016. (Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal)

Describing the late TPUSA founder as an "internet personality" and a "wholesome White guy," Chappelle revealed how he was affected by Kirk's assassination.

"If you talk for a living and see Charlie Kirk get murdered that way, I'll be honest, I was shook," he said.

When asked for comment by Fox News Digital, TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet  said, "Charlie Kirk was a modern-day Founding Father. He was a prophet of truth to the next generation. He was a faithful child of God. Charlie Kirk is Charlie Kirk. Comparisons don’t matter and mean nothing."

This was not the first time the comedian has commented on Kirk's assassination.

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At the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, held from late September to early October, The New York Times reported that Chappelle mocked what he described as a chilling effect on free speech in the United States, even as performers at the festival had signed contracts to present government-approved comedy acts.

According to The Times, Chappelle quipped, "Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get canceled. … I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m going to find out."

"Real Time" host Bill Maher took issue with these comments, blasting Chappelle on his show in October for downplaying free speech in America during his performance at the Saudi comedy festival.

"Real Time" host Bill Maher and comedian Dave Chappelle. (Noam Galai; Arturo Holmes)

"Dave Chappelle … was in the press today saying that you can speak more freely over here than in America," Maher told comedian Louis C.K., who is scheduled to perform at the Saudi comedy festival on Monday.

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C.K. let out a laugh and conceded, "I don't know if that's true."

"Oh, it's not true," Maher said. 

He added that if Chappelle truly believed that Saudi Arabiahad fewer restrictions on free speech than America, he should have tested that claim by doing a routine about the Prophet Muhammad.

Chappelle responded to Maher's criticisms in his new special, saying, "I’ve known Bill since I was like 18, 19 years old, and I’ve never said this publicly, but f--- that guy.

Dave Chappelle during SNL Promos Jan. 14, 2025 (Rosalind O'Connor/NBC via Getty Images)

"I’m so f---ing tired of his little smug cracker-a-- commentary."

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives of Maher for comment. 

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Chappelle clarified his free speech comment during his Netflix special, noting, "I didn’t tell them to put this in the paper. I just said it on stage." He also told the audience not to "forget what I just went through," referencing his attempted cancellation a few years back.

"Two years ago, I almost got canceled right here in the United States for transgender jokes. But I gotta tell you something. Transgender jokes went over very well in Saudi Arabia," he asserted.