To be honest, we’ve never heard of Indonesian comedian Uus before, but he has instantly become our hero for staying true to his principles and standing up for freedom of speech, even though it might have cost him his job.
Uus (real name Rizky Firdaus Wijaksana), is a celebrity comedian who first came to prominence through a stand up comedy talent search on TV. Uus recently posted a widely-shared photo of a banner on his Twitter account that reads, “If just one of [Islamic Defenders Front leader]Habib Rizieq’s hairs falls, you won’t be dealing with just the FPI, but with all of the Muslim people.” The banner was held up during one of the many demonstrations held by Islamic hardline groups against the supposed “criminalization” of Rizieq by the police.
Uus posted the photo along with a cheeky caption that really ticked off a lot of FPI sympathizers:
Shampoo for Rizieq. Make it viral! Help Rizieq buy shampoo!!
Many FPI supporters took that tweet as an insult on an ulema (cleric), which, to them, is somehow an insult towards God.
But Uus replied to such comments with comic expertise.
Is Rizieq even an ulema? *boooooooooom*
I’m a green tea kind of Muslim. Radical-free.
According to media reports, Uus’ tweets garnered numerous reactions from haters who said they would boycott any TV show that employed the comedian.
Those threats seem to have unsettled TV execs, as last night Uus announced via Twitter that he has left the popular variety TV shows “Inbox” and “Opera van Java”, though it wasn’t revealed if he was fired or if he left on his own accord.
Today, it’s confirmed I’m unemployed :))
At the time of writing, that was the last tweet Uus posted after making fun of Rizieq. But before he signed off, Uus decided to go out with a bang as he answered numerous hate tweets directed at him with good-natured humor.
nna ruswandi: Unfollowing @Uus__ your words are not clear (make no sense)
Uus: Try cable TV. More clear and more stable.
Sang Surya: You listen closely Uus, you are truly a brainless dog with ringworms, and you’re proud that you married a whore.
Uus: It’s alright if she’s a whore, she’s still my wife 🙂
Baruna V Kurniawan: Let’s fight, fuck you
Uus: Please don’t fuck me, mas. :((
Our hero.
We hope Uus will never be short on offers for gigs and TV appearances from now on, because we’d totally watch him crack jokes like these all day long.
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