Actor and director Müfit Can Saçıntı has made a statement following his summons to testify as part of a criminal complaint filed against him over a “trustee” joke he made during the Nasreddin Hodja Festival held in the Akşehir district of Konya in July.
Saçıntı shared the statement he provided, noting that comedy has been his profession since 1990 and that he was among the writers for the long-running program “Olacak O Kadar.” Stating that he had never faced a criminal complaint for any of his jokes until now, Saçıntı expressed his surprise at the situation.
Reminding that the Nasreddin Hodja Festivals have been held for 65 years, Saçıntı argued that he was proud to be chosen as the representative Nasreddin Hodja this year and that he delivered his speech in accordance with the Anatolian humor tradition.
“Anatolian humor is socially oriented. It is concerned with social issues. No anecdote of Nasreddin Hodja that does not contain a social message has survived to this day.”
Regarding the words that were the subject of the complaint, Saçıntı described having to explain his joke as a difficult situation for comedians. In his statement, he assessed, “I said, ‘I have been appointed as a trustee to Nasreddin Hodja’s donkey.’ In this sentence, my interlocutor is the donkey.”
Stating that he does not know the complainant and did not interact with them in any way during the event, Saçıntı noted that, according to what he read in the local press, the complaint was filed on the grounds that he had “offended the interlocutors” with his joke.
Saçıntı also mentioned that after the offer to be the representative Nasreddin Hodja, he lost 8 kilos to lighten the donkey’s load, adding, “As an animal and donkey lover, I took care not to offend the donkey.”
At the end of his statement, Saçıntı apologized on his own behalf for occupying the agenda of the police and judicial authorities, stating that he leaves the legal assessment to the prosecutor, and to the judge and the discretion of the public should a case be filed.
News Source: 12punto
