Several comedians are facing criticism for headlining the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia. NBC News’ Gadi Schwartz reports on the controversy as performers such as Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, and Pete Davidson are set to appear despite concerns about the kingdom's human rights record.

The first ever Riyadh Comedy Festival boasts more than 50 global comedians, including Dave Chappelle, Tom Segura and Kevin Hart.

Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Riyadh Comedy Festival is drawing controversy with several U.S. comedians blasting the star-studded event and Human Rights Watch asking participating artists to “request a meeting about Saudi Arabia’s human rights crisis,

The Riyadh Comedy Festival will feature performances from dozens of American comedians, but human rights groups and fellow comedians have slammed participants for ignoring human rights abuses.

U.S. comedians are facing criticism for agreeing to perform at Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Comedy Festival. The star-studded lineup includes Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart and Pete Davidson.

The participation of big name funnymen, including Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari and Kevin Hart, provoked criticism from fellow comedians and human rights groups.

I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing,' says David Cross about fellow comedians performing in Riyadh.

Many of the comics attending are taking heat — deservedly so — from other comedians and human rights groups in light of the Saudi government’s track record of human rights abuses. Saudi Arabia’s use of what we could call “comedy washing” is an insidious tool to project a misleading image of the country’s incremental efforts to liberalize.