Why Netflix removed stand-up routine criticising Saudi Arabia
Streaming giant criticised for censoring show in which Riyadh is mocked over Khashoggi killing
Netflix has come under fire for blocking a satirical comedy show from streaming in Saudi Arabia after the kingdom complained about a segment focusing on the death of Jamal Khashoggi.
The controversial episode of Patriot Act features host Hasan Minhaj joking about the Saudi attempts to explain the journalist’s death inside its consulate in Istanbul last year, CNN reports. Minhaj tells the audience: “At one point they were saying he died in a fist fight, Jackie Chan-style. They went through so many explanations. The only one they didn’t say was that Khashoggi died in a free solo rock-climbing accident.”
It is widely believed that Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi government, was killed on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. However, Riyadh insists the killing was organised by rogue elements within the regime.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Responding to criticism over the decision to pull Patriot Act, Netflix said: “We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request - and to comply with local law.”
The episode remains accessible in all other regions.
The streaming giant added that Saudi officials had threatened prosecution under the kingdom’s cybercrime law, which prohibits “production, preparation, transmission, or storage of material impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy, through the information network or computers”. Contravention of the law is punishable by up to five years in prison.
But Human Rights Watch executive director Sarah Leah Whitson tweeted that Netflix’s claim to support artistic freedom “means nothing if it bows to demands of government officials who believe in no freedom for their citizens”.
Karen Attiah, Khashoggi’s former editor at The Washington Post, added that it was “quite outrageous that Netflix has pulled one of his episodes critical of Saudi Arabia”.
Netflix previously blocked three shows about drug use in Singapore after local authorities objected.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published