US comedian Sammy Obeid has accused Singapore’s media regulator of censorship after his forthcoming show was cancelled, but officials say his permit was rejected due a late application submission.
Obeid, who was set to perform at Singapore’s Victoria Theatre on 31 August, said in a statement on his Instagram that his script was “rejected twice” by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and that he was ultimately told a permit would not be issued.
He alleged that Singaporean officials had asked him to submit his “script” for approval, and despite not wanting to, he did.
“Putting on a standup show in Singapore is extremely difficult. I was warned of this at many stages but chose to work with experienced people who knew how to do it correctly,” he wrote. “Of course I don't normally script my performances – in fact I most often perform jokes that I wrote that week, (or during my set). But I was happy to follow the process in order to put on a show for my 1000+ fans in Singapore.
“I was well aware that the government was unlikely to approve my current ‘set’. It's almost entirely focused on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, of which most governments in the world – if not all – are largely complicit.
“I was told to completely remove all mentions of Palestine and Israel,” he wrote.
He said the authorities told him, five days before the show, that they were “wary” about what he would ultimately say and would not issue the permit.
The comedian, who describes himself as being Lebanese‑Palestinian‑Syrian‑Italian‑American, added that the Singapore show was the largest of his Asia tour and that he had “planned the whole tour around this specific event”.
Obeid told the South China Morning Post that he had reached out directly to IMDA on 9 July, but was instructed to work through a representative.
“Our representative informed us of the revision requests via IMDA on 25 August, and asked us to remove all mentions of Israel and Palestine, also my crowd work portions and a few other jokes,” he told SCMP.
Just hours later, the rep was told the application was rejected.
However, the IMDA has rejected Obeid’s claims, stating that the event was cancelled because the licence application had been submitted on 15 August, only 10 working days before the performance, well short of the 40-working-day requirement.
“At no time were ‘multiple edits’ requested,” the IMDA added, according to a report by The Straits Times. “IMDA would also like to point out that this was the local representative’s fourth late application since May 2024.”
IMDA added that the applicant is “an experienced licence applicant and an individual who is aware of IMDA’s submission timelines” and was informed on 19 August and again on 25 over email and phone that the late application could not be processed.
IMDA’s rules for public performances in Singapore mandate that all public events, including stand-up comedy, require an Arts Entertainment Licence. The process to get one gives IMDA the authority to review, approve, and request changes to content, particularly if it addresses sensitive topics such as race, religion, or politics.
“I understand that Singapore has a lot of strict rules, most of us know this. But to state it was just a late submission, and not at all about the content, is definitely contrary to what our rep has told us,” Obeid told the SCMP.
Obeid is currently scheduled to also take his tour to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Japan, and South Korea.
On Thursday, he announced via his Instagram that ticket holders can transfer their ticket to any other show on his tour if they would like.
