A string of Portuguese performers have pulled out of the inaugural Lisbon International Humour Festival over the participation of headliner Jerry Seinfeld, whose outspoken support for Israel amid the Gaza war has fueled backlash across Europe.
The festival, branded the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest, runs Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, with Mr. Seinfeld closing the event Nov. 1 at the MEO Arena in his first-ever Portuguese performance, according to Euronews.
Actress and comedian Ines Aires Pereira announced Saturday that she was pulling her show “Namaste” from the lineup, saying on social media that one of the festival’s other acts “insistently defends” ideas she considers indefensible. Without naming Mr. Seinfeld directly, she wrote: “We cannot relativise or normalise a genocide.”
The comedy duo Cebola Mol — Eduardo Madeira and Filipe Homem Fonseca — also withdrew, posting an image of themselves with a watermelon slice, a symbol widely associated with Palestinian solidarity, and saying they would celebrate “on another occasion.” Additional acts to exit the bill include the concert act Tributo Pop, the group Conjunto Cuca Monga, comedian Pedro Tochas and street artist Vhils, per Euronews. Mr. Seinfeld and the rest of the named lineup — including Herman Jose, Clarice Falcão and Matilde Breyner — remain on the bill.
Mr. Seinfeld, 72, has been a vocal defender of Israel since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which killed roughly 1,200 people and saw more than 200 taken hostage. He traveled to Israel in December 2023 to meet with hostages’ families and has repeatedly sparred with pro-Palestinian hecklers at shows in the U.S. and Australia in the years since, according to Far Out Magazine.
He drew fresh controversy a year ago when he made a surprise appearance at Duke University alongside a former Israeli hostage and likened the “Free Palestine” movement to the Ku Klux Klan, arguing the hate group was more forthright about its bigotry.
“I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here,” Mr. Seinfeld said, according to The Times of Israel. That appearance followed an earlier walkout at Duke, where dozens of students left Mr. Seinfeld’s 2024 commencement address chanting “Free Palestine” as he accepted an honorary degree.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are regarded by the United Nations as broadly reliable despite not distinguishing between combatants and civilians, puts the war’s death toll at more than 73,000.
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