Comedian Harith Iskander Musa has denied making defamatory remarks about Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, insisting that the jokes and visuals used during his stand-up comedy performance were taken out of context.
In a statement of defence filed on 9 July through law firm Karpal Singh & Co, Harith rejected claims that he acted maliciously towards the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The comedian, who won the Funniest Person in the World competition in Finland in 2016, also denied that the visual shown during his performance portrayed Rosmah as a frightening creature, evil, ugly, disgusting or inhuman.
The lawsuit stems from a defamation suit filed by Rosmah on 9 June, in which she alleged that she was subjected to body-shaming during Harith’s stand-up comedy show, “Harith Iskander: The Outspoken Comedy Tour”, held at a hotel in Melaka on 17 January.
In her statement of claim, Rosmah alleged that Harith displayed images of mythical creatures commonly associated with horror folklore, including a toyol, pontianak and pocong, before showing her photograph as part of the comedy routine.
Harith, however, argued that the performance must be viewed as a complete stand-up comedy act, taking into account its narrative, delivery, tone, timing, audience interaction and the disclaimers provided before and during the show.
He maintained that the material complained of should be assessed in the context of the entire 90-minute performance, rather than through short video clips or excerpts shared on social media.
Harith further contended that any recordings uploaded by third parties were separate publications that did not accurately reflect the full context of the show.
He said he did not know the owner of the TikTok account @mayychan0303, which uploaded clips of the performance, and stressed that he had never authorised, consented to or permitted anyone to record or distribute the show.
According to the statement of defence, the TikTok videos containing the allegedly defamatory material were published without his knowledge or approval and were uploaded despite his clear instructions prohibiting audience members from recording audio, video or taking photographs during the performance.
Harith also argued that references to mythical characters, legends and folklore were fictional, satirical and figurative in nature, and should not be interpreted by a reasonable person as statements of fact about Rosmah.
He added that Rosmah’s image appeared only briefly for less than five seconds during the 90-minute show, and was neither the central theme nor a recurring focus of the performance.
Harith is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed with costs.
During case management before Senior Assistant Registrar Anis Zainab Pawanteh on Tuesday, the High Court directed Rosmah to file her reply to the defence on or before 30 July.
Rosmah’s lawyer, Mohamed Baharudeen Mohamed Ariff, said the court has fixed 31 July for the next case management to review the progress of the filings.
