KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has slapped comedian Harith Iskander with a defamation lawsuit over a stand-up comedy routine that allegedly mocked and insulted her.
Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, filed the writ of summons at the High Court on June 9.
According to her statement of claim, sighted by The Star, the alleged defamation occurred during Harith’s performance, titled "Harith Iskander: The Outspoken Comedy Tour," at the Swiss-Garden Hotel in Melaka on January 17.
Rosmah claimed that during the routine, Harith intentionally defamed her through a visual presentation shown to the audience.
"During the performance, the defendant displayed images of scary mythological creatures from Malaysian folklore, including but not limited to the 'toyol', 'pontianak', and 'pocong', before subsequently displaying the plaintiff's image to the audience as part of the joke's narrative," the statement of claim read.
The plaintiff further alleged that Harith joked about drivers looking in their rearview mirror on a dark road and seeing a terrifying figure, at which point her image was displayed on screen. Rosmah contended that this was a deliberate attempt to portray her as a frightening figure, damage her reputation, and subject her to public ridicule and body shaming.
Rosmah is seeking an unconditional apology from Harith, along with unspecified general, aggravated, and exemplary damages.
In his statement of defence, Harith, whose full name is Harith Iskander Musa, denied that his performance was malicious or defamatory, arguing that the routine must be understood within the full context of a comedy show.
Harith noted that Rosmah’s lawsuit relied heavily on two video clips uploaded to a TikTok account under the handle @mayychan0303. However, he stressed that these clips did not represent the entirety of his 90-minute show.
The comedian stated that he does not know the owner of the TikTok account, adding that the unauthorised recording and uploading of the clips violated the event's house rules.
Furthermore, Harith argued that Rosmah's image was only displayed for "a split second"—specifically less than five seconds out of the entire hour-and-a-half performance.
"The display was momentary, as it was not the main theme or focus of the defendant's show. It was not recurring and cannot be separated from the entire context of the comedy show," the defence statement read.
Harith also noted that before the show commenced, clear house rules and disclaimers were broadcast in both Bahasa Malaysia and English, which his legal team intends to rely on throughout the trial.
