Oscar Nuñez said on an FYC panel Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s war against free speech for comedians, journalists and beyond has gotten so dire he’s considered moving back to Cuba.
“We can’t censor ourselves, or we shouldn’t be afraid to censor ourselves, not in this country, because that’s not what we’re about,” the star of Peacock’s “The Paper” said as part of TheWrap’s 2026 Comedy FYC Showcase panel in Los Angeles.
The actor passionately commiserated with co-panelists Jeff Ross (executive producer, writer and Roastmaster General of “The Roast of Kevin Hart” and EP and writer of “Take a Banana for the Ride,” both on Netflix), Jason Keller (creator and showrunner of Apple TV’s “Stick”) and Rodney Ferrell (EP on “Stick” and Fox’s “Best Medicine”) about the state of comedy as pressure from the White House has seemingly led to the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” at CBS, the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” at ABC, the FCC’s mandated early review of Disney’s broadcast licenses and more.
“I’m here from f–king Cuba, where Castro, the first thing you did when he took over is took over the free press and censorship and all that. My parents left the country because of that,” Nuñez continued. “And now, sometimes I’m like, Wait, am I thinking about leaving? Like, they came here, and now I’m leaving? That just blows my mind that I even entertain such a thought.”
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Nuñez, later throwing his empty boxed water at his feet, earned a rousing response from the sold-out crowd of guild members and Emmys voters at the UTA Theater in Beverly Hills.
Ross, no stranger to ruffling feathers and toeing the line of acceptability in his hit celebrity roasts and standup specials, still maintained, however, that “we really do live in the freest country, so I don’t take that for granted.”
“Laughter is the best medicine,” he said. “Nobody wants their medicine watered down, diluted. They want their medicine potent. And I think telling real stories and not corny stories, telling hard jokes with some weaponized truth in there, I think that’s really important.”
“By the way, doesn’t happen in every country, even democracies,” Ross continued. “Sometimes I’ll do a joke and it’s fine in America, but if it’s about the Queen, it gets censored in England.”
“The Roast of Kevin Hart” memorably generated controversy after airing live to 13.5 million viewers last month, with comedians like Tony Hinchcliffe joking about George Floyd and Shane Gillis directing a lynching joke at Hart. Acknowledging that comedy can often lead to backlash, Ross said, “You might not like every joke, but there’s another one coming up.”
For “Best Medicine,” Ferrell shared that one of his focuses as EP — in part due to working within the constraints of network TV — is finding comedy that’s universal without backing off from conversation-starters.
“There’s a lot of restrictions of what we can say and not say, but I still think we find a way to use comedy in the same way [as streamers like Netflix] — trying to tell things that talk about the world, talk about things that are not always comfortable,” Ferrell said. “We have, you know, gay couples in ‘Best medicine.’ We use these opportunities to make people aware of things that’s maybe not always cutting-edge comedy, but it’s still making people aware of things they may not be comfortable with.”
It’s that blending of heart and humor that similarly serves as an engine for “Stick.” Keller argued that comedy is the best — and potentially last — vessel for truth-telling no matter what.
“Doesn’t matter really politically what side you’re on — it’s it is a First Amendment issue. But yeah, I think comedy is the spear tip of truth,” Keller said, later adding that it’s “the last place where people feel that they can tell the truth.”
“I look out in the world and see it so distorted and so manipulated and you can’t tell what’s what, really. At least I can’t. But comedy is still a place where you can tell the truth, and laughter is confirmation of that truth in many ways … It’s under fire as well, but it is the last, I think, bastion of authenticity that’s out there.”
TheWrap’s Comedy FYC Showcase 2026 was hosted in partnership with UTA, home to many of the comedy voices and talent featured throughout this year’s FYC season. Libations were provided by The Cocktail Collection. Comedian Iliza Shlesinger hosted and provided opening remarks.
Watch the panel in full in the video above.
