SINGAPORE, Sept 1 — Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has slammed US comedian Sammy Obeid’s claims that his cancelled Singapore show faced censorship, insisting the permit was rejected solely because it was submitted late. 

According to Mothership, the statutory board is also considering further action under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma).

Singapore’s Minister for Law Edwin Tong also told the Singapore-based independent platform yesterday that the government is exploring “further steps” following Obeid’s allegations. 

Obeid’s stand-up, scheduled for yesterday at the Victoria Theatre, was called off after he claimed his script had been censored over references to the war in Gaza.

Tong stressed that IMDA “did not request for a single edit” to Obeid’s script. 

“In fact, there were no communications with Obeid on the script, and his own agent has confirmed this. So what Obeid has described simply did not happen,” he said, as cited by Mothership. 

Applications for a licence must be submitted at least 40 working days before a show, he added — Obeid’s was submitted on August 15, 30 working days late. 

“So Obeid subsequently put out a completely fictional account of what transpired with IMDA,” Tong reportedly said.

Obeid, however, told Mothership that he had been in contact with IMDA since July 9 and claimed he was told by his representative on August 25 to remove all mentions of Israel and Palestine, along with other jokes, to secure approval. 

He said the revised script was rejected hours later. 

“I find the statement that the rejection was solely due to late submission and not censorship absurd,” he was quoted as saying.

IMDA responded on Instagram on August 30, calling Obeid’s account “fiction” and reaffirming Tong’s comments. 

A spokesman said one possible next step is a Pofma direction, noting that Obeid’s representative “repeatedly reminded” him the application was late and that the decision was based on timing, not content.

The spokesman added that the representative had made three other late applications since May 2024, despite being experienced, and that “at no time were ‘multiple edits’ requested.”

Obeid, a Lebanese-Palestinian-Syrian-Italian-American born in Oakland, California, has been vocal on social media about the Gaza conflict. 

He claimed in an Instagram post on August 27 that his Singapore script had been rejected twice and that he was told to remove all references to Palestine and Israel, even after making revisions, before the show was ultimately called off.