Comedian Jocelyn Chia
I Might Be Facing Int’l Arrest …
After Malaysia Airlines Joke
6/19/2023 1:16 PM PT
TMZ.com
A comedian’s relatively mild joke about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight has landed her in hot water — so much so, in fact, she’s now worried about being apprehended internationally.
Jocelyn Chia, who has both Singaporean and American citizenship, is in the crosshairs of the Malaysian government right now … this following a joke she cracked at a comedy club in NYC way back in April, referencing the doomed 2014 flight that was never found.
April 2023
Comedy Cellar
Her quip about it was honestly not even all that scathing or insensitive — at least to Americans, but the Malaysian government apparently feels very differently … to the point where it’s now calling for her arrest and extradition to face potential criminal charges.
As insane as that sounds, it’s true — Malaysian officials have asked Interpol to help track down and haul in Chia so she can answer for what they call violations of online content laws they have … which, for whatever reason, they believe can be applied to her — even though she’s not a Malaysian citizen. On its face, it would seem they don’t have jurisdiction.
We got into some of that strange rationale with Chia Monday on “TMZ Live,” and she told us she’s genuinely concerned about law enforcement snatching her overseas and dragging her to Malaysia.
While Chia normally just worries about her material being funny, she now says she has another thing to consider while performing comedy — especially internationally — and that would be … potential capture. Indeed, it’s the stuff of nightmares and movies.
Sounds like she’s consulting the right people to make sure she’s protected — and, as you can imagine, other Americans are rallying around her right to free speech … offensive or not.