Lisbon’s first major international comedy festival was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest is making headlines for a walkout. At least six Portuguese comedians, including Inês Aires Pereira and the duo Cebola Mol, have pulled out of the October 29 to November 1 event, with several citing headliner Jerry Seinfeld’s public support for Israel. Landing Seinfeld reportedly took two years, and it was billed as his first-ever performance in Portugal.
Organizers aren’t staying quiet. Reports say they’ve considered legal action against the performers who withdrew, and some have discussed scrapping the rest of the lineup to run Seinfeld’s November 1 show alone at the roughly 20,000-seat MEO Arena. It’s a wild turn for an event that was supposed to put Lisbon on the global comedy map.
The bigger question is what this means for live entertainment in general. Should a performer’s personal politics follow them onto every stage? And can a festival survive when its own local stars refuse to share the bill? One thing’s clear: this story is far from over.
What do you think, should performers boycott an event over a headliner’s politics? Sound off in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.