A comedian fired over a raunchy stand-up routine in Jan. 2023 may get his day job back after an arbitrator appreciated his jokes, Vice reported.
Jad Sleiman, a Philadelphia reporter who was fired when his employer found footage of his side-gig as a stand-up comedian, was reinstated after a third-party declared some of his jokes to be “insightful” and “funny,” according to Vice.
The arbitrator acknowledged Sleiman’s clips, addressing subjects including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Israel and oral sex, could be in contravention to the Philadelphia NPR affiliate WHYY’s policy on social media and need to be be deleted, according to the outlet.
“I kind of couldn’t believe it,” Sleiman said, the outlet reported. “The one thing I’ve been told about arbitration is that they usually split the baby, so nobody gets everything they want. But what’s been on my side this whole time is the case against me has just been such bullshit.”
Sleiman was a reporter for health and science radio show “The Pulse,” produced by WHYY, Vice reported. He reportedly worked in the position for five years. The case document for the arbitration, which Sleiman posted on Reddit, claims one of the parties allegedly found the videos “egregious” with “sexual connotations, racial connotations, and misogynistic information.” (RELATED: Dave Chappelle Drops Mic, Storms Off Stage After Fan Uses Phone: Report)
View this post on Instagram
“They cut off my health insurance same day, despite the fact that they know I have multiple sclerosis and rely on very expensive drugs to walk,” Sleiman informed Motherboard, according to Vice. “They also went and deleted all my work from the site, every single possible clip I could try to use to get a job.”
Sleiman’s jokes touched on topics inspired by “his experiences as an Arab American, raised in a Muslim family, his experience in the U.S. Marine Corps, and his reporting while he was in the Middle East,” according to the arbitration document. Sleiman expects to start working as a reporter sometime in January, provided WHYY does not appeal the arbitrator’s decision.