US comedian's S'pore show cancelled, alleges censorship on Gaza crisis, IMDA says application late

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has responded to allegations by American comedian Sammy Obeid, following the cancellation of his stand-up comedy show in Singapore.

The show, which was scheduled to take place on Aug. 31 at Victoria Theatre, was to make multiple references to the ongoing war in Gaza.

In an Aug. 27 Instagram post, Obeid claimed that he had censored his script and "only referenced Palestine a few times".

But his script was allegedly twice rejected, and he was told to "completely remove all mentions of Palestine and Israel", he said.

In response, IMDA — which administrates Arts Entertainment Licences (AELs), including those for stand-up comedy shows — denied that it had done so.

"IMDA had not requested for any edits to be made on the script. At no time were 'multiple edits' requested," an IMDA spokesperson said in an Aug. 28 statement.

The spokesperson added that it had rejected the application as it was submitted late.

The rejection was unrelated to the script.

The allegations

Obeid said in his Instagram post that he was "well aware that the government was unlikely to approve my current 'set'" due to its focus on Gaza.

After the alleged request for edits, he replaced his previous overt references to the crisis with "subtle cryptic messages in my my squeaky clean jokes".

"This was also rejected," he claimed.

While he ended up accepting the alleged revisions, he was subsequently told that there was insufficient time for a resubmission of the script.

Five days before the show, he was allegedly told that his request for a permit was rejected.

The comedian said in an Instagram Story that he is looking into holding a show in Johor Bahru instead.

The response

IMDA responded the day after the Instagram post was published, rejecting Obeid's allegations as "inaccurate".

The application was rejected as it was submitted late — on Aug. 15, 10 working days before the show date on Aug. 31.

The rejection was unrelated to the script.

"AEL applications are required to be submitted at least 40 working days before the event, to allow sufficient time for applications to be processed or advisories to be included in publicity materials and advertisements," IMDA said.

In response to Obeid's allegation that he was only told of the rejection five days prior, IMDA said it had informed the representative of the rejected permit first on Aug. 19, and again on Aug. 25.

Furthermore, the local representative, who submitted the event application on Obeid's behalf, had made three other late applications since May 2024.

This is despite the representative being an "experienced licence applicant and an individual who is aware of IMDA’s submission timelines", IMDA said.

No edits made to script

Furthermore, the statutory board said it did not request any edits to be made to the script.

"At no time were 'multiple edits' requested. We are also not aware of past applications for Mr Obeid to perform in Singapore and discussions on scripts," the spokesperson said.

According to IMDA's website, stand-up comedy shows are listed as "unscripted performances", unlike plays, play-readings, and poetry recitals.

Unlike the latter forms, stand-up comedy shows do not appear to require a script, under the checklist of supporting documents.

Mothership has reached out to Obeid for comment.

Top image from Sammy Obeid/Instagram