Popular Comedian On Trial Over ‘Humiliating’ Tweet About Down Syndrome Women

Popular comedian on trial in Spain Over ‘humiliating’ tweet about Down Syndrome women

WELL-KNOWN comedian David Suarez, from Galicia in Spain, will go on trial on May 4 for a degrading tweet he posted about Down Syndrome women carrying out a sex act back in 2019. The prosecutors in the case have asked the Criminal Court in Madrid to sentence Mr Suarez to one year and 10 months in prison, as well as a fine of €3,000, for his “humiliating” comments. He is being charged under article 510.2 of the penal code, which can carry a maximum custodial sentence for injury to the dignity of a person through actions that involve humiliation, contempt or discrediting.

According to prosecutors, the comedian had almost 80,000 followers on Twitter when he posted the comments in question; the message received 10,000 comments, 13,793 ‘likes’ and was retweeted nearly 5,000 times.

Shortly after the incident, the comedian apologised, claiming he had never meant to “hurt people with Down Syndrome” and his comments were simply a part of his black humour. He described his performance style as “rocky genre” that is designed to put “on the table everything that nobody wants to talk about.”

Those prosecuting him have failed to see the funny side however, and in addition to the fine and custodial sentence have asked that he be banned from using social media and be prohibited from working in any educational field for five years.

The Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (Cermi) have described his actions as “humiliating” and claim that his tweet “undermines the dignity and moral integrity of people with disabilities, ridicules them and incites hatred.”

For its part, Spanish channel Cadena Ser has pulled the TV show ‘Yu, don’t miss anything’, which hasn’t aired yet but was set to feature Mr Suarez, as reported by Spanish daily 20 minutos.

El otro día me hicieron la mejor mamada de mi vida. El secreto fue que la chica usó muchas babas. Alguna ventaja tenía que tener el síndrome de down.

— David Suárez (@DavidSuarez_V) April 18, 2019