SINGAPORE: The authorities are considering “further steps” after American stand-up comedian Sammy Obeid gave a “fictional account” about a cancelled Singapore show, said Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong on Sunday (Aug 31).
Speaking to the media while visiting Siglap South Community Centre, Mr Tong said that he “welcomed the opportunity” to set the record straight.
“Mr Obeid has put up a completely fictional account of what transpired between him and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA),” said Mr Tong.
“We take this seriously, and we’re now looking at what further steps might be necessary following this.”
On Wednesday, Mr Obeid alleged on Instagram that his script was rejected twice and that he was told to remove references to the conflict in Gaza, among other things. His post has since drawn over 49,000 likes and more than 6,000 shares.
He claimed his first script was rejected after “weeks and weeks” of waiting, despite having “erred on the side of caution” by only referencing Palestine a few times and mentioning Israel once.
According to him, he was then told to remove all mentions of Palestine and Israel, as well as two calls to action. He said he “completely caved” and made the edits.
Mr Obeid added that his second script was also rejected, and claimed that while he was prepared to revise again, he was told that there was deemed insufficient time for resubmission
Mr Tong said on Sunday that IMDA did not request a single edit to the script and had no communication with Mr Obeid about it – a point he added was confirmed by the comedian’s agent.
He also dismissed Mr Obeid’s claims as untrue and said he could not explain why the comedian chose to present a false account.
