How Restrictive Is It to Be a Comedian in Singapore?  – The Jim Jefferies Show


Nothing gets Americans
off quite like freedom. Sure, other countries are
free. But not America free. – Proud fucking American!
Made in U.S.A., bitch! And if you could rank
freedom around the world, we’re number one!
We’re number… Oh, there is a freedom ranking. And we’re ranked… Awww. Turns out freedom is
constantly being redefined. After 9/11, Americans were told
that trading civil liberties
for security was the new normal. And people all around the world
trade away freedoms every day. But could big tradeoffs
ever actually be worth it? I’ve come to Singapore, a
crazy rich place with some of
the strictest laws on Earth. I sat down with journalist,
Conrad Raj, to learn
how the government keeps
its people in line. Let’s talk about some
of the Singapore laws. What are some of the
more extreme ones? The one that restricts speech, gatherings, Right. protests. Like many laws in
Singapore, they are there
to instill some fear. You can be fined for
selling gum or forgetting
to flush the toilet. But prostitution, ha!
They’re OK with that. Gun ranges? Sure. It’s a carefully designed
system of carrots and sticks. The carrots are the prostitutes,
the sticks are the actual
sticks they use to cane people. Tell me about the caning! There is a guy, I mean, that
they assign to do the caning. Does he have a nickname? Is
he, like, Kenny “The Cane”? No, no, no. And they can give
you up to 24 strokes. Right, right, right. And uh – I needed about 26 to cum. Yeah. Could you say something
wrong here right now
and be in trouble? Could be. But at
72, what the heck? I don’t have a wife so there’s
no other collateral damage. What, you used to have
one? She said too much? Even with their strict
laws and severe penalties, the government has shown
that it can be reasonable. As a former British colony,
they decided to emulate
London’s Speakers’ Corner, famous for drawing big crowds
to engage in raucous debate. So I sent our cameramen
down there to get a shot of
this hot bit of democracy. What is this Speakers’
Corner I’ve heard of? Without any restriction, you
can say whatever you want. Uh, there are still
certain restrictions. But you don’t have to
get a permit or anything? You have to, you have to. You still have to get a permit? You still have to get a permit. And the police station is
just around the corner. But you’re not being watched by
cameras or anything like that. Probably, you would be. Right. But apart from the cameras,
the police, and the
permit, you’re just free
to do whatever you want? Yeah. Right, right. Good. Good, good. If Singapore is going
to claw back some of
its civil liberties, maybe the answer is the
country’s young people. Throughout history, younger
generations have fought social
injustice around the world. So I met with a group of college
students to see how they’re
planning to take on “the man”. Everything I know about
Singapore comes from the
movie “Crazy Rich Asians”. Right? That movie’s
accurate, correct? All: Nope! Not one bit. What do you feel about
all of Singapore’s rules? Ummm, I’d say
they’re quite fair. I feel that the law is necessary
for the country to function. I think that the rules were to
allow us to grow to this point. Yeah, I do think Singapore
has a lot of opportunities
despite the rules. Part of the social
contract is accepting
that some civil liberties are restricted or suspended. OK then… It seems that these young rebels
are actually pretty happy. In fact, according to a
U.N. survey on happiness, Singapore has climbed the
rankings in recent years to 34, ahead of more democratic
countries like Italy,
Spain, and Japan. Maybe that’s because
Singaporeans get free healthcare
and giant tax savings. Basically, the government is
giving away a bunch of free shit so no one complains. But even in Singapore, some
things are too important
to keep quiet about. Have you ever wanted to speak
about something but couldn’t? Yes, multiple times. And what are those things? Like, they frown upon
stuff that is LGBT related. As a person who comes from
the LGBTQ+ community, it’s
very restrictive here. That’s right. While being gay
isn’t technically illegal here, Singapore has come up
with a very Singaporean
way of criminalizing it. It is illegal to have gay sex? Yes. But it’s not illegal to be gay? Yeah. I can wanna have a cock. But I just can’t have a cock. That’s right. Is there gay night clubs? There was one placed called
Spartacus in Chinatown. Spartacus. And then they
come in there and they
raid the place and they go, “You’re a gay!” And then
another person stands up
and goes, “I’m a gay!” “No, I’m a gay!”
“No, I’m a gay!” With all this social
injustice, is anyone
speaking truth to power? Now, I don’t wanna brag, but
nobody’s better at calling out
politicians than comedians. Meet Sam See. He’s trying
to make it as a standup in
Singapore without pissing
off the authorities. Have you ever been
pulled off stage? Uh, yes. A number of times. I’ve had to learn how to sort
of dance around the line. How to get close enough,
but not too close where I
get arrested or go to jail. Do you find as a gay man
that it’s a difficult
thing here in Singapore? It’s something that you try
your best not to think about. Right. Especially since I go on
stage every other night
to say, “hey, I’m gay.” And I know it’s
technically illegal to
promote it positively. Right. Could you argue, if
you got in trouble, that
you’re playing a character? Oh, yeah. But they’re
not gonna buy that. I’ve sucked off too many
people in this country. What would be enough
to go to jail? The closest I’ve gotten is just
making government jokes and
gay jokes at the same time. Like if you go, “this
guy in government is a
homosexual”, would that be… crossing the line? Yeah, because it’s true.
That’s the worst part. So, there are people
in Singaporean
government that are gay? Which country doesn’t have
gay people in the cabinet? A cabinet is a form of a closet. Mhm. But fancier. Yeah, it’s a fancy closet. “Oh my God, did you hear? He
filibustered me last night.” So dirty. TV programming: Does it get
censored before it gets here? Cleavage gets censored.
Cigarettes get censored. Alcohol bottles get censored. How do you censor a cigarette?
Do you just pixelate it? Yeah, just pixelate it.
So they’re just smoking
a Japanese penis. That’s
what it looks like. Some porn is regulated right? Oh, yeah. They’ve blocked
all the good stuff, so… PornHub is down. PornHub’s down? But I’ve
accessed PornHub this morning. I did! I think I can get
porn right now. I’ve never seen
PornHub before! My god! You’re about to.
You’re in for a treat. We’ll see if we can get
some gay stuff for ya! Good! Do they get fisting? Do you want a gay fisting porn? Yes!
Do you want a gay fisting porn? Alright. This is
what I’m in for. Boom shakalaka. Oh! PornHub. We’ve got porn. 23-year-old meth
addict. Extreme fisting. Just like you
requested, young man. Thank you, sir.
You’re very kind. Right. Scott, can you
get a close-up on that? I don’t – I’ve forgotten what
the reason I’m doing this is. You know, it’s easy
to judge Singapore, to say that they’re all
willing to give up too much. I mean, free speech and porn? But let’s not assume
that they’re super
jealous of us either. Would you ever want
to live in the U.S.? Before, maybe. Now,
not really that much. And why, because of Trump? Yeah, I don’t feel like they
treat foreigners that well. The impression of foreigners
on them wouldn’t be as good. You would be worried about
not feeling welcome there? I think people now don’t
have the same perception
of the U.S. as we used to
have ten, five years ago. Right, right, right. American’s like to say
that they’re the greatest
country in the world
because of their freedom. What do you say to that? I’d say they’re a lot less
free than they think they are. Right. You’re not free to go to school
without fear of getting shot at. Freedom comes at a cost. Is that just a cost
you don’t want to pay? Walking on the street
and knowing that… the likelihood of me getting
shot or blown up is a lot lower
than somewhere else in the west, it’s of great comfort to me. Overall, is trading civil
liberties for security a good
deal for the Singaporeans? Put it this way: More
Singaporeans will agree
that it’s been a good deal. But I think things could
have been liberalized far
more than they are now. And without harming security. Security is an excuse often to
bring out more restrictive laws. Right. It really is a false choice. Freedom or security. That’s a message our
government needs to hear too. Luckily, we still have
the right to complain. It’s a great privilege,
but it’s only worth
something if we use it.


  1. Singapore is NOT as Strict as it used to be! and if you live there you can tell that Singapore is starting to see common crimes like in the nearby countries. Singapore is Singapore is because they are STILL IMPOSING laws in place just NOT as strict! and That is very Unfortunate!

  2. Jim did an international tour back in Jan, including Singapore, which is where he talked to Sam. Sam was one of 4or 5 pre show acts. He was pretty good.

    ( And Jim was, predictably, Jim 😆)

  3. 53rd! That means EVERY country you can mention, has more freedom than the USA.
    But let's face it, Americans think Europe is a country. There is no way they can mention 52 other countries.
    Let's lower the bar. America scores 27th in education. Try to guess the 26 countries that are smarter. Without using Google.

    – Benjamin Franklin

  5. To an Asian 'rebellion" is simple, just wear a shirt that is a different color than the dress code permits.

    Oooooooh….what a bad boy.

  6. America free? Tell that to Assange and all the people in prisons who are wrongfully convicted (blacks an hispanics mostly)

  7. So exposing someones real intentions and believes is the new slap on the wrists i see,some kunts are just extra lucky right jimmy boy 🙂 ?

  8. Surprised to see that the Singapore government hasn’t censored this yet. Singaporeans are too sheltered by all the censors and discrimination against the LGBT is rampant. We need more freedom of speech

  9. Jim doing “comedy” again… serious question, when he is smearing and editing people you lunatics wail that he is just a comedian not a journalist. Yet this is quite clearly news…

    Which is he?

  10. If you like Jim Jefferies, i urge you to go watch a video by Avi Yemini exposing him. He’s a lying fraud.

  11. Only an American system can allow a racist islamaphobic miscreant like Jim Jeffries to lie and change the words of someone he interviewed and then shield he from video evidence to the contrary

  12. How is it that Jim, previously an Australian (still is at heart) doesn't know anything about Singapore except from that extremely bland movie. I mean I always thought Singapore and Australia are best buds, I mean besides the Kiwis but still.

  13. Sam See convinced me with all his arguments and jokes until his claim about Pornhub censorship got busted by Jim.

  14. HOW ABOUT YOUR EDITING OF INTERVIEWS AND MANIPULATING THE VIEWERS … focking this show should have been canceled after the leak of his scumbag moves

  15. Singapore is very racist place. Talk to the indians and chinesse. All the laws are to restrict and control the minorities.

  16. Hey, even without Pornhub, Singaporeans are resourceful enough to get their needs fulfilled on other sites… wait, how did I know that?

  17. I just want people to be clear about this – the main opposition to LGBT in singapore comes from conservative society, not the government.

  18. It seems good but we all know someone has chopped up the interview to the point where nothing seems genuine. I can’t take J.J seriously ever again.

  19. IM A GAY. IM A GAY. IM A GAY. 😂 Btw, best look at the 'restrictive freedoms' we have in Singapore done in a while!

  20. Correction: We (Singapore) do not have free healthcare. And we did not invent the law that criminalises homosexuality. It was an archaic law from our past as a British colony that remained in the books way after Britain had repealed it.

  21. why do Western people or whatever comedians go to Eastern countries and try degrading them by comparing to own values.

  22. I like Jim. Jim hates muslims and jews, which he happily said in a hidden footage.
    I dislike that Jim decided to put his face down and ass up to please the snowflakes of the U.S though.

    But you know, good on you Jim.
    You pretend to care about those sensitive American feelings, have them pay you, and still run around hating them for being dumb Christians.

    Quite a smart fella, actually.

  23. It should be noted that Singapore is a really small country, so it's obviously pretty easy for them to run everything really well. Also, the Singaporeans are like 60 percent of the population. Migrant workers aren't exactly walking on sunshine in Singapore. Of course if you're part of the few million citizens living in a small, rich country you won't have many complaints.

  24. Dude inden between freedom and rights of rational animals u.s is first on freedom to protec and die for it

  25. It's a country that only thinks about money, status and owning xhit 24/7. Not my cup of Tea

  26. You don't need such tight laws to be safe. America is an exception in the west with regards to violence. Most western countries are safe

  27. Jim trying to hang out other ppl but he himself drawed islams holy person, so lets hope he dont travel to an islamic country that have an order to murder him

  28. Maybe they should install Tor browser then they can see what they want, but not smart to do it from home

  29. The U.S. is now #1 only as the most backward leaning western semi-democracy that has a shit load of nukes. As for education, healthcare and basic safety net for the people, we in the U.S. are close to the bottom along with 3rd world countries.

  30. Why does Jim sound like everybody’s drunk or stoned or drunk-and-stoned uncle? Feel like Thanksgiving time…

  31. As restrictive as making sure Avi Yemeni couldn't get into the United States? That's pretty restrictive, Jim. Got any more hot takes on Muslim babies being eaten by Dingos? Perhaps you'd like to show us the picture of Mohammed that you drew. You know, the one where you say Mohammed looks like a wobbly ghost.

  32. This looks a lot like the interview Jim did with Avi Yameni. You know, the one where Jim cut and pasted the interview to seem exactly opposite to the truth. No doubt Jim would have been up to those same tricks here when he was interviewing. He even has the same old smelly looking black golf shirt on. Hahaha….Jim you will always be a scumball! I wonder how many muslim jokes you told off camera??

  33. There's no free healthcare in Singapore, it's based on free market. Just like the US health system but well done instead of being fucked up. Singapore health is currently one of the, if not the, best health system in the world. Getting healthcare is cheap due to high supply in Singapore

  34. First of all, there is a fair amount of freedom of speech in Singapore… The restrictions are mainly on hate speech, defamation as well as something known as contempt of court i.e. accusing the judicial system of being corrupt or bias…

    Secondly, there actually is a fairly big comedy scene in Singapore… If you ever come down, check it out..

    Lastly, Shout out to my man, Sam… He's a fantastic guy and an excellent comedian, one of the most hard working in all of Singapore. He's incredibly funny and refreshingly candid. I'd watch the hell out of his Netflix special if he ever had one..

  35. Somehow I can' t force myself to believe anything Jeffries says after that framing of Avi Yemeni. Even if it's the truth it is so strange to watch him talking about freedom of speech. So sad, a comedian should be the canary in the coal mine, not the freaking gas. The way he lines out that free health care and tax cuts are stuff the government gives out so people are quite is so much bs that it hurts. Taxes are money the government takes from you, not taking your money is not a present. Without looking it up pretty sure that health care is not for free in singapore and in some way or another people are definatly paying for it.

  36. Mr Nugent, when will you comment on how you tried to ruin a man's life by misrepresenting him as a racist on your TV show?

  37. as a singaporean, I gotta say that I agree with the students that the restrictions are necessary, but I also think that it needs to be toned down a bit. since the laws were put in place when singapore was still developing to maintain order, we've developed so much more now and it's about time some freedom was given to us. oh and plus we don't have free healthcare, just major government subsidies (that have their own issues as well)

  38. Well, you have to give Americans one thing: Australians would never accept an American comedian making fun of them and basically hating them constantly. Americans make shows out of people who hate them.

  39. Well think of it this way: Singapore started off being very strict and gives civil liberties sparingly. It is now starting to "dish out" civil liberties. US on the other hand, started off being all about freedom and human rights and liberal. It is now starting to rethink its position about it. Let me ask you, which is easier – to take away civil liberties or give them out?

  40. dont forget: singapore has no defined level of poverty, so the wealth gap in their country is massive and tons of senior citizens still work to scrape by despite the country's GDP and wealth

  41. LOL #53 I knew it wouldn´t make it into top 10 but 53 even surprises me. Greetings from good old #24 you losers!

  42. US – free as in “you are not allowed to have abortions”, you have absolutely no rights against a cop, no power to stop fracking, etc… Always amazes me how easy the US population is manipulated with the “freedom” thing. You don’t want safety or government regulation because guns are “freedom”, etc…

  43. Jim Jefferies, you tried to ruin a man's life by painting him as a racist when he is no such thing – you edited your interview with him to suit your own political agenda and that of Comedy Central. This won't go away. It's time your viewers understood the truth about how you have no problem ruining a man's life if it furthers your career. Link:

  44. "Thosewho would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." 

    -Benjamin Franklin

Leave a Reply
