Pro-Palestine comedians say ‘no’ to festival headlined by Jerry Seinfeld, citing his support of Israel
Jerry Seinfeld has become the center of a growing controversy in Portugal after several comedians and performers pulled out of a festival.
Seinfeld is set to serve as a headliner for the event.
Pro-Palestine comedians quit Jerry Seinfeld’s Portugal festival
The senior artist is scheduled to close the inaugural MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest in Lisbon on Saturday, November 1, marking his first performance in Portugal (via The Telegraph).
However, several acts have withdrawn from the festival and one of them is Inês Aires Pereira, who announced on Saturday that she had removed her show Namastê from the festival lineup.
Aires Pereira did not name Seinfeld in her statement but said she could not participate because “one of the names insistently defends ideas and acts that I consider indefensible.”
“We cannot relativize or normalize a genocide,” she wrote on Instagram.
Comedy duo Cebola Mol, made up of Eduardo Madeira and Filipe Homem Fonseca, also confirmed their exit.
“We will celebrate justice, freedom and joy with you on another occasion,” the pair posted on social media alongside an illustrated image of themselves with a watermelon, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Carolina Deslandes, Tatanka and Bárbara Tinoco, Pedro Tochas and Alexandre Farto are among the other acts who left the show, without publicly explaining the reason.
Jerry Seinfeld defended Israel and criticized the Free Palestine movement
After the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, the Seinfeld star traveled to Israel and met survivors and families of hostages.
He later described the trip as “the most powerful experience of my life” during an appearance on Bari Weiss’ “Honestly” podcast.
At Duke University, Seinfeld compared the “Free Palestine” movement to the Ku Klux Klan while accusing the movement of masking anti-Jewish sentiment.
“Free Palestine is, to me, just — you’re free to say you don’t like Jews,” he said, according to The Chronicle. “Just say you don’t like Jews.”
He added, “I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here, because they can come right out and say: ‘We don’t like blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ OK, that’s honest.”
He also faced backlash when an influencer tried to get him to say “Free Palestine” during a selfie (via TRT World) because Seinfeld responded, “I don’t care about Palestine.”