Comedian Bill Burr is showing no remorse for performing at a controversial comedy festival in Saudi Arabia.

The Emmy- and Grammy-nominated funnyman is defending his decision to headline the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which kicked off last week in the Middle East.

Burr is among dozens of comics — including A-listers Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari, Whitney Cummings and Pete Davidson — who are participating in the inaugural event.

Due to the Muslim country’s history of abuses and oppression, including critics of the government being jailed and sometimes executed, the festival has received rising backlash from human rights groups and fellow entertainers.

Comedians such as David Cross, Marc Maron and Shane Gillis have publicly condemned the festival, while Atsuko Okatsuka said she previously declined an invitation after being given a contract that included bans on political, religious and LGBTQ+ content.

But Burr, 57, said the “mind-blowing” event was among “the top three experiences” he’s ever had.

“It was great to experience that part of the world and to be a part of the first comedy festival over there in Saudi Arabia,” he said on the latest episode of his “Monday Morning Podcast.”

“The royals loved the show. Everyone was happy. The people that were doing the festival were thrilled,” he added.

However, the “King of Staten Island” star did address his own apprehension about participating in the festival after being “fed” years of the Western media’s negative portrayals of the region.

“You think everybody’s going to be screaming ‘Death to America’ and they’re going to have like f—ing machetes and want to chop my head off,” Burr said, noting he was surprised by how diverse and receptive the locals were.

He also confirmed Okatsuka’s claims about restrictions on material, but said the limitations were negotiated down after comedians pushed back. According to Burr, he was able to perform his set with only minor changes.

Billed as “the biggest comedy festival in the world,” the event overlaps with the seventh anniversary of the brutal murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who’d been widely critical of the Saudi Arabian government.

A Saudi national and U.S. resident, Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018.

In 2021, former President Joe Biden ordered the release of a declassified intelligence report which detailed that Khashoggi’s murder was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — a claim their government denies.

Ahead of the festival, the Human Rights Watch had accused the event of aiding in the “whitewashing” of the government’s severe repression of free speech. The group called on anyone who participates to speak out about the abuses or “risk bolstering the Saudi government’s well-funded efforts to launder its image.”

But despite the criticism and calls to action, Burr remained firm in his stance.

“People are cool. Governments are the problem,” he rationalized. “And the people I met there? They just wanted to laugh. And they f—ing did.”

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