Judge slaps Brazilian comedian with 8 years in prison for offensive jokes

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 sentenced to over 8 years in prison for making offensive jokes about minorities in his 2022 stand-up show.

The court ruled his remarks crossed the line from comedy to hate speech.

Is that really justice? pic.twitter.com/0BYXYGK1pO

— Ju (@jtrdl_) June 4, 2025

Despite his jokes being just that — JOKES! — a federal court in São Paulo ruled that his right to free speech isn’t absolute, especially when said speech comes up against other people’s human dignity.

“Freedom of expression is not absolute nor unlimited,” Judge Barbara de Lima Iseppi ruled, according to The Washington Post.

“When there is a confrontation between the fundamental precept of liberty of expression and the principles of human dignity and judicial equality, the latter should win out,” the ruling continued.

According to Euro Weekly News, the court was specifically concerned about jokes Lins made during a 2022 show called “Perturbador,” or “Disturbing.”

“The public prosecutor’s office filed a complaint about the content, and in 2023, a different court ordered the video to be removed from the internet,” according to EWN. “By that time, it had already amassed over three million views.”

Ironically, in “Perturbador,” Lins fiercely defended the “inclusivity” of his comedy.

“I make jokes about everything and everyone,” he said. “What show could be more inclusive? I even hired a sign language interpreter just to be able to offend the deaf-mute.”

Watch the full special below (a bootleg copy was reportedly uploaded to YouTube by one of Lins’ fans):

In addition to being sentenced to time in prison, Lins has also been hit with a 300,000 reais ($63,953.92) fine.

“Watching a comedian receive the same punishment as someone convicted of drug trafficking, corruption, or even murder, all because of jokes told on stage, is deeply troubling,” his lawyer reportedly said after the controversial ruling.

A number of other comedians have since come to Lins’ defense.

“You might not find Leo Lins’s jokes funny — you might even detest them — but sentencing someone to prison over them is madness and harmful,” comedian Antonio Tabet reportedly tweeted in Portuguese. “I hope this irrational decision is overturned.”

Comedian Jonathan Nemmer meanwhile lamented that Brazil has turned into “a country that takes comedians’ jokes seriously but treats politicians’ actions as a joke.”

Sadly, this ruling is nothing new in Brazil, a country that’s increasingly turned toward the authoritarian, free-speech-suppressing left by not only censoring comedy but also so-called “misinformation” as well.

“In recent years, the country’s Supreme Court has repeatedly moved to block and remove the online accounts of people it alleged were spreading misinformation that could endanger Brazilian democracy,” the Post notes.

“The country has also assumed an increasingly hard-line position against racist speech, which is considered a crime in Brazil,” the report continues.

Last year, for example, influencer Day McCarthy was also sentenced to eight years in prison. Why? Because she’d allegedly made racist remarks about the adopted black child of a white celebrity couple.

In Brazil, Day McCarthy (On the right), a 35-year-old social media provocateur, has been convicted of racism for making racial slurs against a 4-year-old Black girl, the adopted daughter of two White celebrities.

McCarthy, who identifies as biracial, referred to the child as a… pic.twitter.com/2LdQhUXACA

— MrMakiri (@MrMakiri) December 16, 2024

In the eyes of Brazilian prosecutors like Lívia Vaz, talking such nonsense is a crime.

“This crime has historically been met with minimal consequences, like community service,” she told the Latin Times. “Now, we’re seeing more arrests and prison sentences.”

Yay?

Critics, for their part, don’t like any of this censorship.

Look:

Brasil is not a democracy anymore.

May this be an alert to all of you.

— Marcelo Machado (@marcelo_jj) June 7, 2025

This is Lula’s Brazil. We are living in a dictatorship.

— Nascido no Bostil da Silva Pinto (@machpraticante) June 7, 2025

The judicial system in Brazil is dirtier than you can imagine, in addition to being corrupt and involved with factions, the Marxist mentality is exalted.

— Sued (@Sued_616) June 7, 2025

Not only that, but in the same week, some girl killed a woman by poisoning her and will apparently only serve three years in prison. The message being sent is that, in Brazil, dark humor jokes are more serious than murder by poisoning.

— Rampart (@FilhoDeVulkan) June 7, 2025

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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