January 16, 2026 | 07:17 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The stand-up comedy special "Mens Rea" by Pandji Pragiwaksono has climbed into the top ranks of Netflix’s most-watched shows since its debut on December 26, 2025. Despite its commercial success, the 2-hour and 24-minute performance has landed the comedian in legal trouble; Pandji was recently reported to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police for alleged public incitement and blasphemy contained within his set.
"Mens Rea" was the culmination of a multi-city tour spanning 10 locations from April to August 2025. The journey began in Bandung on Saturday, April 19, 2025, and concluded with a massive show at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta on August 30, 2025. Throughout the special, Pandji tackles provocative themes including education, politics, and law enforcement, often drawing directly from contemporary news cycles and factual sources.
Addressing the mounting controversy, Malobika Banerji, Content Director for Netflix Southeast Asia, emphasized the platform's commitment to creative freedom while distancing the company from the legal fallout.
"We support content diversity. What I can say is that we worked with Pandji as a comedian whom we respect. Regarding the content and its legal implications, he is the most appropriate person to provide an explanation," Banerji stated during a press event at Kasablanka Hall, Jakarta, on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
The legal case has taken a technical turn after the complainant submitted a flash drive containing a downloaded clip of the special as evidence.
Herdiansyah Hamzah, a law lecturer at Mulawarman University, pointed out that the evidentiary use of the flash drive could be legally compromised. He noted that Netflix content is protected by strict digital rights management, meaning the video cannot be legally extracted or redistributed outside the platform.
"Videos shown on Netflix cannot be downloaded and transformed into other media," Herdiansyah explained when reached for comment on Monday, January 12, 2026.
He further elaborated that while Netflix offers a limited download feature for offline viewing, this is restricted to the application itself. The files are encrypted and cannot be moved to external storage devices. "This means that if someone downloads a video from Netflix and then transfers it to another medium, such as a flash drive, that action is illegal," he clarified, suggesting the evidence might have been obtained through illicit means.
M. Raihan Muzzaki contributed to the report.
Read: NU Leadership Denies Involvement in Report Against Comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono
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