Rosmah Mansor sues comedian Harith Iskander over stand-up routine, alleges body-shaming
The wife of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has filed a defamation lawsuit against comedian Harith Iskander over a stand-up comedy routine that she alleges mocked and body-shamed her.
According to Malay Mail, Rosmah Mansor filed the suit at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on June 9, alleging she was defamed during Harith's Harith Iskander: The Outspoken Comedy Tour performance at the Swiss-Garden Hotel in Melaka on Jan 17.
Rosmah claimed Harith, 60, displayed images of supernatural creatures from Malaysian folklore, including a toyol, pontianak and pocong, before showing her photograph as part of the comedy routine.
She also alleged that Harith joked about a driver looking into the rear-view mirror while travelling on a dark road and seeing something frightening before her image was displayed, implying that she was the frightening figure.
According to Malay Mail, Rosmah contended that the routine portrayed her as someone deserving of ridicule and humiliation and amounted to body-shaming.
She also claimed that two recordings of the performance uploaded to TikTok by user @mayychan0303 garnered about 219,700 views and 3,354 likes, and 12,500 views and 145 likes respectively.
Rosmah is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as an injunction restraining Harith from republishing the alleged defamatory statements.
She is also seeking an unconditional written apology and a retraction to be published in two mainstream newspapers and on social media platforms approved by her or her solicitors, according to Malay Mail.
Harith says TikTok clips lacked context
According to The Star, Harith whose full name is Harith Iskander Musa, denied that his performance was malicious or defamatory, arguing that it should be viewed in the context of the entire comedy show rather than two short TikTok clips.
Harith also argued that Rosmah's image appeared on screen for less than five seconds during the approximately 90-minute performance.
"The display was momentary, as it was not the main theme or focus of the defendant's show. It was not recurring and cannot be separated from the entire context of the comedy show," his defence stated.
He also said the videos were recorded and uploaded without his knowledge or consent, in breach of the show's house rules.
He added that house rules and disclaimers were broadcast in both Bahasa Malaysia and English before the show began.
According to Malay Mail, the next online case management has been scheduled for July 31.
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