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Bassem Youssef

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Bassem Youssef
File:Bassem Youssef on the second season of Al Bernameg.jpg
Birth nameBassem Raafat Muhammad Youssef
Born (1974-03-22) March 22, 1974 (age 50)
Cairo, Egypt
NationalityEgyptian
Years active2011-present
GenresSatire/political satire/news satire, observational comedy
Notable works and rolesDoctor
Websitehttp://www.albernameg.com

Bassem Raafat Muhammad Youssef (Arabic: باسم رأفت محمد يوسف, IPA: [ˈbæːsem ˈɾɑʔfɑt mæˈħæmmæd ˈjuːsef]; born March 22, 1974) is an Egyptian doctor, satirist, and the host of El Bernameg ("The Program"), a satirical Egyptian news program broadcasted by CBC. The press has compared Youssef with American comedian Jon Stewart, whose satire program The Daily Show inspired Youssef to begin his career.[1][2][3]

Career

The B+ Show

Youssef began his first satirical show in March 2011 in response to the Egyptian Revolution. Entitled The B+ Show, the program was uploaded to his YouTube Channel.[4] The show mainly consisted of satirical political programs via the Internet after the revolution of January 25. Bassem began his presentation on YouTube on March 8, 2011, with more than 108 episodes of the program. The episode view count has surpassed 15 million views on YouTube.

El Bernameg

After the success of The B+ Show, Egyptian channel ONTV, owned by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, offered Youssef a deal for El Bernameg (literally, "The Show").[5] The show premiered during Ramadan 2011 with Egyptian-American engineer Muhammad Radwan as its first guest.[6][7] Youssef has parodied Egyptian celebrities like talk show host Tawfik Okasha, composer Amr Mostafa, Salafist presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, and Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and onetime presidential candidate, in his show. Bassem Youssef was also hosted by Jon Stewart on his show on the 21st of June, 2012.

The second Season of "El Bernameg" premièred on November 23 on a different channel called CBC.[2][4] Just three episodes into the show, several lawsuits have been filed against Bassem Youssef and his show, mainly for "insult and defamation". On the season's premiere, Bassem made the owner and coworkers of his channel the subject of his show, as an assurance that he is granted full freedom of expression, and that no topic was off limits.[8][9] CBC did not, however air his second episode, which also featured further criticism of a TV show host who filed a lawsuit against Bassem. "The Show" was resumed, however on its third episode.

The program, which began with a small group working at home with Youssef, moved from the smallest studio broadcasting on an Online TV Channel to the Cinema Radio downtown, redesigned in the likeness of New York's Radio City, where The program broadcasts in front of a live studio audience. The contents of the of a typical show's broadcast have evolved, which began with a sarcastic take on current political events, and eventually incorporating the hosting of public figures and stars from various fields, as well as various artists' performances.

Other work

Since Bassem Youssef is also a doctor, and has been before the show began, he has appeared as a guest on many stations and programs worldwide, including BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, and the The Daily Show. He also writes on behalf of some of the articles which are published in the well-known Al Shorouk Al Masraya.

On January 1, 2013, the daily Al-masry Al-youm reported that an Egyptian prosecutor was investigating Bassem Youssef on charges of maligning President Mohammed Morsi, whose office claimed that Youssef's show was “circulating false news likely to disturb public peace and public security and affect the administration.”[10]

Despite all controversy it sparks, El Bernameg has been a major success. It is constantly topping the regional YouTube charts, making Bassem Youssef's YouTube channel the most subscribed to in Egypt.

Personal life

Bassem Youssef lives in Cairo with his wife, Hala.[11] He works as a cardiothoracic surgeon when El Bernameg is in hiatus. In his capacity as a doctor, he assisted wounded Tahrir Square protesters after the Battle of the Camel.[12] And he has a daughter named Nadia.

See also

References

  1. ^ El-Wakil, Mai (April 21, 2011). "Drawing inspiration from the revolution". Al Masry Al Youm. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Marx, Willem (29 March 2012). "Bassem Youssef: Egypt's Jon Stewart". Bloomberg Businessweek.
  3. ^ Hassan, Abdalla (April 28, 2011). "Surgeon Using Parody to Dissect the News in Egypt". New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Elkayal, Heba (September 7, 2011). "Comedy show du jour: Bassem Youssef's Al-Bernameg". Daily News Egypt. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Montasser, Farah; Deena Adel (September 2, 2011). "Revolutionary Satire". Al Arabiya. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  6. ^ Watson, Ivan; Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (1 April 2011). "Syria Releases Egyptian-American Accused of Espionage". CNN World. {{cite news}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  7. ^ Interview with Mohamed Radwan, Syrian Revolution 2011, 31 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Egyptian comedy show takes on 'merchants of religion'". AlArabiya. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  9. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Un7YwQtQ1M
  10. ^ Host of Egyptian ‘Daily Show’ investigated after being accused of insulting President Morsi by Aya Batrawy, Associated Press (reprinted in the National Post), January 1, 2013.
  11. ^ "Egypt's "Daily Show"". PRI. March 28, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  12. ^ Montasser, Farah. "Revolutionary satire: Bassem Youssef speaks to Ahram Online". Ahram. Retrieved September 28, 2011.

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