A stand-up comedian has explained in court that the point of a skit in which he poked fun at pastor Gordon Manché, was to make people laugh and not to threaten or incite violence against the litigious pastor.

Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi heard testimonies of both the complainant, Manché, and the defendant Daniel Xuereb, in a Sliema district sitting on Friday morning.

Xuereb was the third person to be questioned by the police, and the second comedian to face criminal charges, for making jokes about Manché and the evangelical Christian organisation, which describes itself as a Charismatic Pentecostal Bible Based Church. 

A widely-circulated clip of the skit shows Xuereb saying that people should listen to Manché when it comes to the topic of anal sex - a reference to a prior viral video of one of Manché’s sermons on that topic - because he was ‘Malta’s biggest arsehole’. 

In January 2023, the creator of the satirical website Bis-Serjeta, Matt Bonanno was also prosecuted for a tongue-in-cheek reply to a social media comment in which he suggested River of Love relocate to Buġibba, which would then be carpet bombed. 

In June that year, Teatru Malta’s artistic director Sean Buhagiar was also called in for police questioning over a Facebook comment in which he repeated the “threat” and riffed on Manché’s pearl-clutching overreaction to the carpet bombing quote.

Xuereb’s skit featured a joke about the Bonanno case.

From the witness stand, Xuereb explained that he had not meant his words to be perceived as a threat or an incitement to violence. “The point was not to insult Gordon Manché, the point was to make people laugh. Which they did. I called him an arsehole, because he was talking about anal sex and I said that he knows what he’s talking about because he’s an arsehole… I mentioned it not because I felt anyone had the capacity to carry out carpet bombing.”

“My point was not to threaten…I knew that potentially there could be someone who would misunderstand me, so after I said it, I said ‘I’m joking’ to make sure that nobody misunderstood me.”

Asked by the police inspector as to whether he had been serious or joking when he made the offending remarks, Xuereb replied: “both at the same time. In comedy you try to appear serious while joking.”

Lawyer Silvio Brincat, who is representing Manché as parte civile, cross-examined Xuereb, asking about the ending of the video. “I said sorry Gordon, don’t sue me. Then when someone from the croud shouted ‘fuck you Gordon’ I repeated it.”

Police inspector Eman Hayman, who issued the charges and Manché also testified on Friday.

The charges were issued following a report filed by Manché on March 11, 2023, about a TikTok video of a stand up comedy routine by Xuereb “containing a small eulogy to Matt Bonanno and which insulted Manché,” inspector Hayman said.

Lawyer Cedric Mifsud, assisting Xuereb together with lawyers Kirk Brincau and Ian Barbara, asked the inspector how the defendant had insulted Manché.

“He called him an arsehole and the skit continued… there was an interlude on Matt Bonanno, after which Xuereb made a middle finger gesture. When an unidentified audience member shouted “fuck you Gordon,” he had repeated it and at the end of the skit he said “fucking arsehole.”

The reference to Bonanno had been used as a springboard to insult Manché, explained the Inspector.

Comedy skit ‘continued lies, hatred and incitement to violence,’ Manché tells court

Friday’s star witness was Gordon Manché, who was assisted in court by lawyers Silvio Brincat and Jeanise Dalli.

After taking the witness stand, instead of replying “I swear” when administered the oath, Manché told the court “I always say the truth in the name of Jesus Christ.” “Before I start, I want to thank…” began the complainant, but was stopped short by the magistrate, who pointed out that the witness stand was not a pulpit.

“I felt aggrieved because this video continues the lies, hatred and incitement to aggression against me, my family, my wife and children… the worst is that we felt threatened and in danger,” the pastor told the court, necessitating the court intervene once again and remind the witness that it was dealing with the specific charge of making insults and threats, and not incitement of hatred and violence.

Duly corrected, Manché told the court that he had reported the skit to the police because “besides the obscene language used”, it had prompted comments about the Bonanno case.

He said that at the end of the video, Xuereb had also “instigated the audience to carpet bomb River of Love… I felt very threatened.”

Manché exhibited copies of comments made by viewers, telling the court that some contained “religious words used in a rude and obscene manner,” prompting the defence to point out that those comments were not Xuereb’s.

“Other platforms continued to feature what he said, continuing its spread.” complained Manché. 

Brincat asked the witness what had happened to his family and church after the video was published online. “There are times where we are walking in the street and are insulted, or have a middle finger raised to us,” Manché said, going on to say that even his children had been taunted about it at school.

When asked by his lawyer as to whether his life had changed since the publication of the video in question, Manché said that it had. “It became more stressful. I have to be more vigilant at all times because of the hatred [incited by the video].”

But when cross-examined by Mifsud, Manché agreed that he was well-known a public figure. While conceding that it was not his first time being on the receiving end of similar commentary, Manché said that he had never encountered “so much hatred.”

“In November 2023 you were interviewed by the Times of Malta and had said ‘if anyone wants to insult me because it gives him a buzz, go for it.’ What is the difference between that and the case at hand?” asked Mifsud.

“The word ‘arsehole’....” Manché replied. The court asked whether he felt that the defendant’s words fell in the category of ‘insults’.

They did not, he replied.

“Why did you go to the police then?” was Mifsud’s next question, to which “because he incited violence and hatred” was Manché’s reply.

The lawyer pointed out to the court Xuereb was charged with the offence of uttering insults and threats, and not with inciting violence.

Manché told the court that he had never reported any artist because they called him an arsehole but because they instigated violence “bombing and so on.”

“The word ‘bombing’ which means ‘to bring physical danger,” clarified the pastor.

Mifsud asked the witness whether he confirmed that his client had been quoting someone else about ‘carpet bombing’ in the video. “I took it to mean me. Because he’s talking about me,” said Manché.

“Did the video end with the phrase “I’m joking?”” asked the lawyer. “Yes, but then he put up his middle finger,” replied Manché.

“That means he is insulting you,” observed Mifsud, to which Manché reiterated that he had “no problem personally with people insulting me.”

“What bothers you is the threats,” said the court. “Yes,” replied Manché. “Bombing. Bombing means destruction.” 

The pastor insisted that the context of the skit meant that Xuereb was instigating violence. 

“It makes no difference to me if I am called an arsehole, but you must look at the context of it… instigating a crowd of people against me for something which I am not.”

For at least the third time in the sitting, Mifsud pointed out that the comments posted under the video were not Xuereb’s. “They were instigated by his comments. Yes they were his,” Manché insisted.

“If I were to tell you that you have a problem with people who are homosexual or have homosexual tendencies, would I be correct in saying that was the context?” asked the lawyer. “No,” replied the pastor. “The context is not even a sermon of mine. My ‘patata’ quote had been made in the context of heterosexual relationships.”

Making final submissions the defence argued that insults and threats were not interchangeable under the law and that inspector Hayman had acknowledged the impossibility of carpet bombing Bugibba because Matt Bonanno “did not have the power to order the US Air Force to carpet bomb an area.” 

The law, which had been amended after the lawsuits were filed, states that it should not be used to suppress artistic expression which do not lead to realistic threats to safety, argued the lawyer, citing jurisprudence which also made concessions for satire and context for certain insults. 

“Matt Bonanno has been mentioned extensively, but with all due respect he is not a witness and there is no evidence [in the acts of the case] of what he wrote or said. I am not his lawyer but he undoubtedly has no capacity to carry out carpet bombing,”  Mifsud argued.

As there was no evidence in the acts of what Bonanno had said, the court could not take judicial notice of it, added the lawyer.

“Daniel Xuereb must be found not guilty because the charges as issued do not subsist in terms of law and jurisprudence,” concluded the lawyer.

Brincat retorted that Manché had given examples of how he and his family were feeling threatened. “[Manché] also told us that he is a public figure and that the incidents in question pre-dated the show,” the defence lawyer shot back.

The sitting was adjourned. The case continues in May.