Portuguese artists withdraw from festival featuring Jerry Seinfeld
In Lisbon, at least six participants have withdrawn from performances at the international comedy festival MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest, which is set to feature American comedian Jerry Seinfeld as its headliner. The event is scheduled to take place from October 29 to November 1 and, according to the organizers' announcement, will be Seinfeld's first live performance in Portugal.
Statements by festival participants
Actress and comedian Inês Aires Pereira wrote on Instagram that one of the festival participants “steadfastly defends ideas and actions that I consider indefensible.” She also wrote: “We cannot relativize or normalize genocide.” She did not name Seinfeld in her post.
Comedy duo Cebola Mol published an image featuring a watermelon — a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians — and said it would “celebrate justice, freedom and joy” another time. None of the artists who canceled their performances directly named Seinfeld, although some of their statements indicated disagreement with his position on Israel.
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Other cancellations
The festival also announced the cancellation of performances by the bands Tributo Pop and Conjunto Cuca Monga, without explaining the reasons. Comedian Pedro Tochas and visual artist Vhils separately announced on Instagram that they were withdrawing, without providing further details.
As reported by the Jerusalem Post, Seinfeld supported Israel during the war in Gaza. In December 2023, he visited Israel and met with the families of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 of that year. Representatives of the comedian and the festival producers did not respond to requests for comment.
