Court Slaps Comic With $3,360 Fine for Calling Female Audience Member Fat
Stand-up comedian Vladimir Tamarkin was ordered by the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court to pay NIS 10,000 to a female audience member he called "fat.".
Jerusalem, 19 August, 2026 (TPS-IL) — the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court ruled on Wednesday that stand-up comedian Vladimir Tamarkin, who primarily performs for Russian-speaking audiences, must pay a female audience member NIS 10,000 ($3,359) in compensation after he called her “fat” and compared her to a boxer during a performance in Bat Yam last year.
The plaintiff claimed that during a stand-up show she attended, comedian Vladimir Tamarkin told her: “A man who weighs as much as you will soon come on stage. He has been in the boxing business for eight years.”
According to the lawsuit, Tamarkin also told the woman during the performance: “You remind me of my cat. You’re as fat as she is.”
Judge Tzipora Ohana-Kapash wrote in her ruling that she believed the remarks about the woman’s weight, “including references to a fat cat and a boxer,” crossed the bounds of what could reasonably be considered acceptable.
Tamarkin commented: “Although the court’s decision has left a bad taste in my mouth, this whole affair has given my stand-up career a serious boost, and that is, of course, something I can’t help but be happy about.”