Cover image via @sammyobeid (Instagram)
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American writer and stand-up comedian Sammy K Obeid says his upcoming Singapore performance has been cancelled after authorities allegedly rejected his permit application over jokes that mentioned Palestine, Israel, and Gaza
In an Instagram post on 27 August, Obeid, who was born in Oakland, California, and identifies as "Lebanese-Palestinian-Syrian-Italian-American", announced that his show, scheduled for 31 August 2025, would not proceed.
"Dearest fans in Singapore, it is with great disappointment that I have to tell you the show this Sunday is being cancelled," he wrote in the post, which has since garnered over 43,000 likes and more than 1,600 comments.
According to Obeid, Singaporean authorities required him to remove all references to Palestine and Israel from his material, along with two indirect calls to action buried in his set that encouraged audiences to "keep speaking up about the horrors in the holy land" and "donate your time and life purpose to help people who are suffering".
In Singapore, public performances such as plays, stand-up comedy, concerts, art exhibitions, and literary readings require an Arts Entertainment Licence from the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), unless exempted.
The licence comes with conditions, including ratings and consumer advisories, and applicants must submit scripts for approval.
Obeid said he was aware his Gaza-focused material would be unlikely to pass the strict licensing system in Singapore, but chose to attempt compliance by toning down his script
"So, the question for me was, how much should I — or am I willing to — censor myself? And sadly, or not sadly (depending on how you look at it), I was willing to tone down my material so that there would be a show for the people — who I know are coming because they support me and they support the cause 🍉," he said, using the sliced watermelon emoji.
For context, the watermelon emoji is widely used as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, often standing in for the flag or related imagery when such content is censored on social media platforms.
He explained that he submitted a heavily censored version of his script, which only referenced Palestine "a few times" and mentioned Israel once "during a math joke".
"I thought this was very generous considering… reality. And tbh didn't feel great about it," he said.
But even this toned-down submission was rejected. Obeid said officials flagged five "trigger words" and demanded all mentions of Palestine and Israel be removed.
He added that they also objected to notes in his script indicating crowd interactions, such as asking people where they were from or what they did for a living, before making lighthearted commentary.
Obeid admitted he was ready to censor further, even to the point of hating himself for "caving on my conscience", but his subsequent revisions were still turned down
"I decided to bury subtle cryptic messages in my squeaky clean jokes that were a very clear wink & nod to what I would normally say. Like 'I hate my job. Don't occupations suck?' Or 'my favourite fruit is watermelons, but they're so expensive — don't you think they should just be free??' This was also rejected," he said.
Eventually, he claimed authorities told him there was "not enough time for another revision and resubmission", and that they were "wary" about what he might ultimately say on stage.
"So, they basically told me: 'No, we will not issue a permit.' 5 days before the show," Obeid claimed.
The comedian apologised to fans, saying he had planned his whole Asia tour around the Singapore event, which he called the "biggest show of the tour"
"If you bought tickets and planned your entire weekend around seeing this show — I am beyond sorry. I planned my whole tour of Asia around this specific event — it was supposed to be the biggest show of the tour.
"That said, I am trying desperately to find another way to put on a show, or offer some kind of replacement event, but it's not looking great. At the very least, I will be contacting everyone about refunds and what I can offer at this point," he wrote.
Obeid explained that he tried to explore workarounds, including rebranding the show as a children's performance to avoid licensing restrictions, but no promoter was willing to take the risk.
"We even tried to change it from a comedy show to a children's show to bypass needing a license. But no promoter wanted to take that risk. Also, that show would have been… interesting. But just know, I tried. Even looked into costumes," he said.
He closed his post by thanking fans and writing: "Love you all. And Free Palestine."
The comedian is still scheduled to do a show in Kuala Lumpur on 30 August.
