Bassem Youssef, once the most watched television personality in Egypt, has accused the Egyptian government of paying “conservative Egyptians” to heckle his performances in the United States. In a Facebook Post, the doctor-turned-comedian shared an article by The New Yorker that covers an incident in which he was heckled. “Funny that when I finally made it to be in a story in the New Yorker it would be about that time when hired hecklers by the regime tried to sabotage my show in New York. The New Yorker was there to witness the whole thing,” said Youssef, also known as the Jon Stewart of Egypt, on Facebook. In the article, Youssef and his manager, Maha Nagy, discuss how there are often several ticket holders at his performances who are there to disrupt his performances. “These people are paid hecklers,” explains Youssef, describing the hecklers as “older than the rest of the crowd” and “wearing baggy suits and not laughing.” Nagy adds to this, adding that it happens at every show. “They are conservative Egyptians who live here, but they are hired by the Sisi regime to heckle,” says Nagy in the article. “And…
Bassem Youssef Accuses Egyptian Government of Paying Hecklers in the US
March 11, 2017
