Commentator José Eduardo Cardozo and the businessman and former deputy Alexis Fonteyne discussed, on Tuesday (03), in The Great Debate (Monday to Friday, at 11 pm), if the conviction of comedian Leo Lins to eight years and three months in prison, for prejudiced jokes against vulnerable groups, is fair or if the decision hurts the right to freedom of expression.
For Cardozo, the court decision is correct. “What this humorist did was make people embarrassed. This is not freedom. I can’t use freedom to hurt the other, to achieve the dignity of the other, even under the cloak of a joke. It doesn’t matter.”
For the businessman and former federal deputy Alexis Fonteyne, It is absurd and can be classified as censorship. “It was a closed show, with the announcement that it was a humorous presentation. In a moment the control will be so great that we can get to the point of banning humorous programs.”
Fonteyne complements. “Chico Anysio would be arrested today. Jo Soares too. Cassette and planet, Panic … but no, the rule today is to shut up.”
Cardozo again disagreeing in the face of Fonteyne’s consideration that Leo Lins’s jokes took place during a comedy show.
“Offense is offense. If I’m doing a show and committing a crime, it remains a crime.”
