‘World’s Funniest Person’ Winner Harith Iskander Sues the Laugh Factory Over Unpaid Prize Money

Usually, the posts that he shares on his Facebook page are meant to invite laughter from his followers. However, no one was laughing after reading Harith Iskander’s latest post yesterday (22 Feb).

The post confirmed a shocking coverage by Hollywood Reporter revealing that The Laugh Factory and its founder Jamie Masada are being sued for allegedly not providing Harith Iskander with the full prize money he was promised after winning the title of ‘Funniest Person in the World’.

In 2016, the title that he won supposedly came with a sweet USD100,000 (about RM407,520) prize money and a U.S. comedy tour. However, since winning the competition, Harith Iskander told Hollywood Reporter that he has only received a USD1,000 (about RM4,075) for being one of the top 20 finalists and three payments amounting to USD30,995 (about RM126,310).

Source: Coconuts

Harith stated in his post that although the article by Hollywood Reporter was released back in December, he was unable to comment on it yet. He elaborated,

“When this article first came out, many people asked me if it was true but at that time, the complaint was still pending in court, so I was advised by my lawyer in California not to comment on it. It is finally official.” 

Harith is suing for promissory fraud, breach of contract, misleading advertising, unfair competition, and some other claims as well. He is looking to acquire the remaining USD70,000 (about RM285,264) and also some sort of declaration from The Laugh Factory to either give him the U.S. comedy tour or pay him the equivalent value in cash. He is also seeking a refund of his participation cost which included travel, immigration fees and loss of earnings.

Hopefully, justice for Harith Iskander will prevail and surely the majority of Malaysians are behind him every step of the way. Let’s hope he will get the last laugh!

Also read: Harith Iskander Wins Funniest Person In The World Contest