The Stand-Up Resistors
Some comedians fear being cancelled. Others across the world wrestle with self-censorship, bans or even prison, but they continue because humor is their weapon of choice.
By Cheng Li
If this article were written by a stand-up comedian, they might start by saying: A comedian walks into a bar — and tells a joke.
But this is no joke. In some parts of the world in 2025, the wrong joke can lead to big trouble for a comedian：cancelled gigs, banned social media accounts, revoked visas or even time in prison. Some might joke that they are dangerously funny, but it is remarkable that they just keep talking into the microphone, saying the unsayable in search of laughs.
This isn’t an article about what is funny. It’s a story about how people use humor to express anger, pain and their experience — and some of the risks they run by doing so.
Chapter 1：The Comic Reveal
Diana Hong, a queer Korean American comedian based in Los Angeles, was told as a
child: “Don’t speak Korean. Be American.”
“Nobody thought it was good that you spoke Korean,” she said. “It made you ‘other.'”
From a young age, Diana learned that being accepted meant hiding parts of herself.
This feeling simply shifted onto the stage.
“When I started doing comedy, I catered to the audience, especially in white, well-paying rooms,” she said. “You do a few stereotype jokes, get them to laugh, and then maybe they’ll let you go deeper.”But after that, she REALIZED comedy can be an expression of herself, her real life and her vulnerability. But, instead of hiding her vulnerabilities, she made them part of her act, taking back the power.
“People can’t make fun of you if you’re already making fun of yourself,” she says.
Diana Hong's joke @dhongcomedy
Doing comedy, she says, isn’t just a way to express herself, it’s a way for her to understand herself and her power. In an industry where queer, Asian women largely remain marginalized, Hong is trying to connect with others.
“I got into comedy because I didn’t want to feel alone anymore.”On that quest, she isn’t worried about shutting herself down. “I don’t worry as much now about censorship,” she says. But, she adds, “I will ask, will this hurt someone? And if not, am I still willing to say it?”
Performance from YouTube Channel Diana Hong
Chapter 2 ： Soft but Powerful Joke
DURING Dawn’s very first open mic IN A BAR around 10 years ago, lowering its reachshe said the word “pissed” and was immediately warned by the owner: “Say that again and we’ll cut your mic.”
It was an early lesson in comedy, that not everyone gets to speak freely, and that the limits change based on where she performs. “In Oklahoma, you can’t curse,” Dawn says. She had to learn to navigate what she could and couldn’t say, depending on where she was.
“In Seattle, you can’t punch down,” she says with a laugh.She chose the path of “clean comedy,” but clean doesn’t mean not powerful.
Vanessa Dawn's joke @nessathedawn
Dawn delivers serious thoughts, like black history with a fun and soothing tone. “I don’t say it’s history. I will just talk about us.” Everyone is a product of history. When she humorously shares her own story, people also learn about Black history through their laughter.
Afterward, Dawn says, people sometimes go home and look it up. “That's magic,” she says. Dawn believes that gentle humor can be the most powerful form of resistance in her world.
“You can’t change anything with hate. Say it with love, say it funny, and people will listen.”As a result of who she is, she knows that just making it to the stage can be a challenge. She’s often mistaken for an audience member, or another performer's girlfriend, based on the assumption that she couldn’t possibly be the talent.
“Security stops me at the door all the time. I have to explain, I’m the one performing tonight.” “Sometimes it feels like you have to work twice as hard just to be taken seriously,” Dawn says.Still, she’s hopeful about her work. “If you can make people laugh, they’re more willing to hear what you have to say,” she says.
“You can change minds with love and humor.”
Performance from YouTube Channel Vanessa Dawn
Chapter 3：‘Evil Comedy’ Beyond Borders
Maz Jobrani is an Iranian American comedian known for the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, which aired in 2007. The high-profile show came at a time when anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. remained raw — and particularly ugly — in the years after 9/11. Jobrani and three other Middle Eastern comedians went on national television to say: This is who we are — and who we’re not.
“I was doing political jokes during the Bush years,” he explains in a recent interview.
“I’d get people saying, ‘You can’t criticize the president during wartime!’ And I’d be like: ‘If I said this sort of joke in Iran, I’d be in prison.’”
Maz Jobrani‘s joke @mazjobrani
“I wasn’t threatening the president,” he said. “I was just talking about immigration policy.”These experiences made Jobrani realize that comedy’s boundaries aren’t just shaped by audiences’ reactions anymore, they’re shaped by computer programs and filters made by who knows who. “Now it’s the algorithm censoring you,” he said, noting that behind the algorithm, decisions involving politics and effective censorship are at play. Still, Jobrani knows that comedy has the power to challenge audiences’ thinking and change minds. One white viewer wrote Jobrani after watching the Axis of Evil special.
“He said he used to think all Muslims were terrorists, but our comedy made him question that. …That’s enough,” Jobrani says. “We’re not preaching, we’re connecting.”
Performance from Youtube channel Maz Jobrani
Still, speaking freely is far from easy. “I don’t choose not to talk about these things,” she says. “I just can’t” — as in, she’s not allowed to due to nervous show producers. She still has family members who live back in China, so there is still some political content she needs to self-censor.
After one joke about Indian beauty pageant winners, she was uninvited from a major comedy festival. She refused to apologize.
“It’s just a joke,” she said. “If it’s funny, it’s allowed. If it’s not funny, it’s not.”
Jiaoying Summer‘s performance by Cheng Li
Jamie Schreiner Song from Spotify
When Schreiner uploaded her satirical song “Kill All the Men” to YouTube, the platform took it down for violating hate speech rules. But she wrote the song just to comfort her friend who had been sexually harassed by several men at Subway.
It was a reminder that even in countries with strong protections for free speech, comedians and content creators also face censorship. Just like in Schreiner’s case, some films and TV shows have captured how comedians in so-called free societies can still face powerful restrictions.
Chapter 4 ： When a Joke Becomes Evidence
While comedians from the U.S. and other free countries navigate policies and algorithmic censorship, in many parts of the world, the threat can be far more severe. In places like China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Russia, comedians face government censorship that can lead to canceled shows, arrests or even imprisonment.
The infogram below compares speech freedom rankings across these countries, showing how restricted expression can be. There is also an interactive map that showcases five comedians from each country who have faced extreme censorship, from state bans to jail time, for telling jokes about politics, religion or social taboos.
Together, they show that when humor collides with authoritarian power, the cost of laughter can be dangerously high.
Speech Freedom Comparison(2024 & 2025）
Source: Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2025; Reporters Without Borders (RSF), World Press Freedom Index 2024.
Freedom House scores measure the state of political rights and civil liberties across countries, while RSF’s Press Freedom Index evaluates the level of media freedom worldwide.
Five Commedians From Five Countries
Chapter 5 ：Why Humor Matters
Comedians have all kinds of personal stories, and they choose comedy for many different reasons. Even when facing strict censorship, they keep going on this path. One reason, of course, is that they believe laughter and humor are important.
Why is humor important?Therapist Raffi Bilik, director of the Baltimore Therapy Center, shared his insights on why humor matters so profoundly in a mental health way.
“Being able to laugh and enjoy oneself is an important part of mental health,” Bilik says. In his experience, humor helps reduce tension, builds rapport, and provides emotional relief — especially in difficult or stressful moments. While he notes that not all therapists are trained to formally integrate humor into sessions, those who naturally use humor can help clients reconnect with their strengths and navigate challenges. For Bilik, the power of humor is not only about telling jokes on command but also about creating a space where laughter becomes a tool for connection, healing and resilience. This is also what the comedians want to bring to their audiences.
All in all, for some, comic resistance and the fight for free-speech comedy are about rewriting the story of childhood shame and past trauma. For others, it’s about reminding people of the darkly comic moments in history — those moments when humor exposes injustice and absurdity. It can be a way to push back against censorship, discrimination, and social stereotypes. But above all, it’s about resilience — about persisting, despite all the obstacles, to get the last laugh. .