A judge’s decision in São Paulo overthrew the comedy special by Léo Lins, which totaled 3.3 million hits, and imposed prior censorship, prohibiting new jokes| Photo: Playback Instagram

In the opinion of André Marsiglia, a constitutionalist lawyer specializing in freedom of expression and the press and member of the OAB-SP Press Freedom Commission, the court decision that overturned a video by comedian Léo Lins for containing “derogatory or humiliating content” in relation to the category “considered to be in the minority or vulnerable” is entirely censorious.

In the decision, judge Gina Fonseca Correa not only ordered the exclusion of any video, text or image content that contains “sensitive topics” from her channels, but also prohibited the comedian from making jokes involving “any category considered as a minority or vulnerable” at their shows, under penalty of a R$ 10,000 fine for non-compliance with each event that took place.

For Marsiglia, preventing a comedian from manifesting himself in the future, in the next shows, constitutes prior censorship, which is prohibited by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) itself through ADPF 130. “Any minimum restriction on the exercise of freedom of expression must be temporary , justifiable and specific. However, the prohibitions of the decision are generic and abstract. If complied with to the letter, they make the professional activity of the comedian unfeasible. That is, in addition to censoring their expression, it also censors the freedom to exercise their economic activity”, explains the jurist. “There is no constitutional support for the decision as issued. It is serious for everyone who expresses themselves if it is not reversed immediately and forcefully by the Court ”, he reinforces.