Brazilian Comedian Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for ‘Bigoted’ Jokes
- On June 3, 2025, a federal court in São Paulo handed down a sentence exceeding eight years to comedian Leo Lins for promoting intolerance through his 2022 stand-up comedy performance.
- The sentence followed a 2023 law signed by President Lula increasing hate speech penalties, under which the court ruled human dignity outweighs absolute free expression.
- Lins’s performance targeted multiple minority groups including Black, LGBTQ, Indigenous, elderly, and disabled people, and the special had over three million YouTube views before removal in 2023.
- The court also fined Lins 303,600 reais for moral damages, stating his jokes spread verbal violence and promote intolerance in society.
- Lins’s defense intends to challenge the verdict, arguing that it threatens freedom of expression and could have harmful implications for comedy and artistic expression.
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'Freedom of expression is not absolute': Judge slaps Brazilian comedian with 8 years in prison for offensive jokes · American Wire News
A Brazilian comedian has been sentenced to eight whopping years in prison for simply telling allegedly “bigoted” jokes. Comedian Leo Lins was hit with the sentence on Tuesday for allegedly making discriminatory jokes about black people, fat people, old people, AIDs victims, homosexuals, evangelicals, indigenous people, etc. The guy was and is basically an equal opportunity offender who targets EVERYBODY. The Brazilian comedian Léo Lins was sent…

Comedian sentenced to 8 years in prison for jokes — judge allegedly cites Wikipedia during conviction
A Brazilian comedian said a judge took issue with his Wikipedia page when she handed down an eight-year prison sentence.Comedian Leo Lins, whose full name is Leonardo de Lima Borges Lins, was about three years removed from his comedy special when Judge Barbara de Lima Iseppi ruled the comedian made "discriminatory" remarks while on stage.The comments the judge made during her ruling have been perceived as "power-hungry" by other comedians, who e…
Brazilian comedian sentenced to 8 years for telling ‘forbidden jokes’
by WorldTribune Staff, June 6, 2025 Real World News American comedians have complained that wokeness has essentially eviscerated their craft. Brazil apparently has taken woke to the next level. Brazilian comedian Leo Lins has been sentenced to eight years and three months in prison for telling “forbidden jokes” in a televised stand-up special. A federal […]
Brazil Is Imprisoning a Comedian for 8 Years for Biased Jokes
A federal court in Brazil imprisoned comedian Leonardo Lins for eight years on Tuesday for jokes he told in a YouTube video in 2022. According to Brazilian outlet O Globo , The 2022 video, which was titled “Disturbing,” apparently “[included] prejudiced statements against black people, obese people, the elderly, HIV-positive people, homosexuals, indigenous people, people from the […] The post Brazil Is Imprisoning a Comedian for 8 Years for Bias…
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