Artists facing criminal charges at the behest of River of Love pastor Gordon John Manché have broadly welcomed a proposed law that gives them more freedom to insult others.

The bill lays down that artists who use insults as part of their craft are not committing an offence so long as they do not make “credible and realistic” threats.

It was jointly presented by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici last week and is due to have its second reading in parliament later on Tuesday. 

This comes as satirist Matthew Bonanno, comedian Daniel Xuereb and Teatru Malta director Sean Buhagiar face legal action triggered by reports filed by Manché in response to their criticism of him.

“In terms of protecting artists, I think it’s amazing,” said Xuereb, who has been targeted for calling the pastor Malta’s “biggest asshole”.

He argues that people who put themselves in the public eye should be ready to hear other people’s opinions about them.

“I had no idea that calling Mr Manché an asshole was an issue when I said it. But even if I did, I would have said it anyway as I believe I have every right to say that, whether I’m joking or not.  In fact, this would be my only criticism of the amendments: insults – not threats – should be allowed irrespective of context.

Teatru Malta director Sean Buhagiar also faces legal action triggered by reports filed by Manché.

“Sometimes people do things that are worthy of insult.”

Bonanno, author of the satirical website Bis-Serjetà, was served with a summons in January after jokingly saying that the River of Love religious group should be relocated to Buġibba and carpet-bombed.

“I think it shows how behind we are as a society that we have to have a law that states that satire and comedy more generally aren’t meant to be taken seriously,” Bonanno said.

“I don’t think artists deserve any kind of special treatment. Everyone, regardless of their occupation, should have the right to insult someone or make an off-colour joke, so long as there are no credible threats of violence involved, or the insults don’t amount to harassment.”

The appropriateness of a joke, he added, should be judged by its audience and not by the courts or police.

He said that when he made his infamous ‘carpet-bombing’ joke, it was as a regular citizen not through Bis-Serjetà. “I believe I’m well within my rights to do that.”

The real issue, he added, is the way the police handle these kinds of reports. “They should have the sense to know when something is clearly a joke or a harmless insult, no matter how offended the person making the report is.”

Buhagiar said that while it was important to strike a balance between freedom of speech and protecting people from harmful content, it was just as vital to preserve artistic licence while preventing misuse of privilege.

“By distinguishing between these forms of expression and genuine threats or hate speech, it also protects from abuse,” he said.

“Individuals should have the right to criticise a group that consistently targets a community based on their sexual orientation without facing retaliatory legal action. To me, if you can say someone is going to hell because of their sexual orientation, you can also joke that it should be carpet-bombed along with Buġibba.

“The law provides protection even for those who may create subpar art, satire, or comedy. It basically gives everyone the right to joke online without it being perceived as a real threat or as hate speech.”

He adds that the law should cover different forms of artistic, comic or satirical expression, including photos, digital art, videos, and more.