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krudell's profile
Kirk Rudell
Kirk Rudell
Kirk Rudell
@krudell

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Kirk Rudell

@krudell

Professional writer. Also amateur.

LA/NY
newyorker.com/contributors/k…
Joined March 2011

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    Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

    A couple years ago, when I was writing for American Dad!, I needed an Arabic speaker for a small part. Our casting director recommended a Saudi comedian, who happened to be in LA for a couple months shooting a tv show. His name is Fahad Albutairi.

    2:26 pm - 2 Jan 2019
    • 54,018 Retweets
    • 93,493 Likes
    • New Year _ Same Me🍾🎆 d a v i d 𝕁𝕠𝕧 🗯 musemona Erwin Melina Hammer Kayla Cook WelshLoz (MBE, BNSN)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🍌🇱🇻 زكريا | ザカリア🍃
    729 replies . 54,018 retweets 93,493 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        I looked him up. He was the first Saudi stand-up comedian to appear on stage professionally in the Kingdom, the “Jerry Seinfeld of Saudi Arabia.” He had a couple million Twitter followers. (He has none now; I’ll get to that.) He was, frankly, more interesting than the part.

        7 replies . 628 retweets 5,897 likes
        Show this thread
      3. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        The day of the recording, I walked to the booth to meet Fahad and direct his session – it was just a couple lines; I’d say hi, run it a few times, and we’d both be on our way. Fahad was standing with a woman, who he introduced as his wife, @LoujainHathloul.

        2 replies . 501 retweets 5,200 likes
        Show this thread
      4. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        Loujain didn’t know anyone in LA, so she was tagging along with Fahad for the day. They were young, cool, cosmopolitan, and incredibly nice. I liked them right away. We chatted.

        1 reply . 417 retweets 4,926 likes
        Show this thread
      5. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        I asked Fahad about being a Saudi comedian – about doing something that didn’t exist before in his country. I had recently had breakfast with Trevor Noah to talk about a project, and it seemed like he was coming from a similar place...

        2 replies . 427 retweets 4,967 likes
        Show this thread
      6. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        ...growing up without hearing other stand-ups and being unfamiliar with the standard rhythms. So Trevor had to create his own. Fahad was fascinated. Yes, he had had a similar experience. But his voice was also shaped by the fact that comedy in the Kingdom was...dangerous.

        2 replies . 410 retweets 5,156 likes
        Show this thread
      7. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        So now we dipped into politics. I mentioned the young, “progressive” Prince Mohammed bin Salman. All the press in the US seemed pretty positive about the guy. He was meeting people in Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Were they feeling optimistic about the future of Saudi Arabia?

        5 replies . 429 retweets 4,839 likes
        Show this thread
      8. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        They were hopeful but warned there was still a long way to go on human rights. Which is why they’d moved to the UAE. “Huh. At least you’re safe,” I said. With millions of fans, he was too high profile to mess with. I looked at Loujain. “And his fame covers both of you, right?”

        3 replies . 445 retweets 4,953 likes
        Show this thread
      9. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        They looked at each other. “She’s much more famous than me in the Middle East,” he said. And then I realized who she was... one of the women’s rights activists who had been arrested for driving.https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/meet-the-saudi-women-who-advocated-for-the-right-to-drive--and-are-paying-dearly-for-it/2018/06/23/bd977440-73cf-11e8-bda1-18e53a448a14_story.html …

        3 replies . 1,093 retweets 10,717 likes
        Show this thread
      10. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        I felt like an idiot. I had assumed she was the sidekick when she had already, by her mid-20s, done more for human rights than I ever will. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loujain_al-Hathloul …

        5 replies . 883 retweets 13,059 likes
        Show this thread
      11. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        We talked about her arrests. The toll it had taken when, just after their wedding, she had been picked up again and “disappeared” for a few days. They felt somewhat protected by their fame, but still... the Kingdom wasn’t safe.

        6 replies . 491 retweets 6,535 likes
        Show this thread
      12. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        They were a window into a world I only knew through small articles in the Times, and I could’ve talked to them all afternoon, but we had to do the record and get on with our days. We exchanged info. We made plans to have dinner while they were in town.

        1 reply . 419 retweets 5,971 likes
        Show this thread
      13. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        We didn’t. Work/life/family. But we chatted occasionally over the next couple years. Loujain was trying to launch a talent agency for actors, comedians, and musicians in the Middle East; I gave her feedback on her website.pic.twitter.com/6AxcInwMI5

        2 replies . 401 retweets 5,583 likes
        Show this thread
      14. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        Fahad and I sent each other links to work we were doing...trying to make the gulf between our worlds a little bit smaller.

        2 replies . 368 retweets 5,141 likes
        Show this thread
      15. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        In 2017 I read that Loujain was arrested and reached out to Fahad to see if she was okay. He answered that she was already being released. It was scary but fine. And then, last spring, they were both grabbed, blindfolded, and taken to Saudi Arabia.https://nyti.ms/2zYKoWD?smid=nytcore-ios-share …

        14 replies . 1,213 retweets 6,703 likes
        Show this thread
      16. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        While Jared Kushner’s buddy MbS was planning to murder Khashoggi, he was also imprisoning many others, including Fahad and Loujain. They were just young, creative people, trying to make stuff.pic.twitter.com/V14KV8USHs

        49 replies . 2,831 retweets 15,073 likes
        Show this thread
      17. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        Nine months later, Loujain is still in jail. I don’t know where Fahad is. He deactivated his Twitter. I read that they are no longer married.

        28 replies . 1,138 retweets 8,998 likes
        Show this thread
      18. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        I’d like to see what they could do in this world, if they were given the chance. I’d like the government of my country to not take payoffs to look the other way at human rights atrocities. I’d like to have that dinner with them some day.

        28 replies . 2,061 retweets 26,945 likes
        Show this thread
      19. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        As the Democrats take control of the House, I’d like my fantastic @RepAdamSchiff to have Fahad and Loujain in his thoughts. Maybe @Trevornoah can give them some of his attention, too – I know they admired him.

        48 replies . 2,339 retweets 23,474 likes
        Show this thread
      20. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        pic.twitter.com/Wb2VE5Ecy6

        49 replies . 579 retweets 8,257 likes
        Show this thread
      21. Kirk Rudell‏ @krudell Jan 2

        Apparently Loujain’s father’s Twitter was suspended last week after he tweeted about the torture she has suffered in a Saudi government prison. The story below is awful – any comment from @jack or @TwitterSupport? (Thank you @EricaCher4 for finding)https://www.albawaba.com/loop/twitter-suspends-account-loujain-hathlouls-father-after-tweeting-about-her-torturing-and-sexual …

        230 replies . 5,433 retweets 18,341 likes
        Show this thread
      22. End of conversation

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