Singaporean Stand-Up Comedian’s Malaysian Show Faces Last Minute Cancellation
Source: Instagram | @thesharulcanna
Ticketholders can request a full refund or attend the Last Minute Gala Show tonight.
Sharul Channa was all set to entertain her Malaysian fans tonight at PJ Live Arts as part of her Just Joking! annual world tour. However, in an unexpected turn of events, the organizer, Laugh Labs Entertainment, announced that the show has been canceled.
Sharul confirmed the cancellation on her social media, stating, “The show got cancelled because they took away the license or rather they took away the license for me to perform.”
She explained that the cancellation was due to several police reports made over an old stand-up joke she performed years ago. A video of the joke had resurfaced online, leading to the last-minute revocation of her permit to perform.
Sharul assured that her show tonight would not have included any material on religion, race, or royalty, adhering to the initial application agreement.
Phoon Chi Ho, CEO of Laugh Labs Entertainment, issued a statement explaining that the Ministry of Communication canceled Sharul’s work visa following multiple police reports about a 2018 video touching on sensitive 3R (Religion, Royalty, Race) issues.
Phoon expressed shock, as they had obtained all necessary permits and approvals a week before ticket sales began. He noted that only in the last 24 hours did reports from the public, referencing old content on Comedy Central Asia and online, come in. Despite their best efforts to appeal, Sharul will not be able to perform this weekend.
Phoon apologized for any inconvenience caused by the cancellation.
What video was it?
Neither Laugh Labs nor Sharul specified which video sparked the police reports. However, Sharul mentioned it was a promotional video for her show aired on Unifi TV.
Our checks on Facebook revealed a clip promoting Sharul’s 18 May show, featuring a snippet from one of her old performances. The clip attracted negative comments from some in the Indian community due to jokes about the Hindu God Shiva. However, it is unclear if this is the video that led to her work visa being revoked at the last minute.
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