Egyptian star satirist Bassem Youssef had his country in stitches during the Arab Spring, but a decade later the politicians may well think they have had the last laugh. Youssef, 46, now lives in the United States, unable to return home for fear of arrest, while in Egypt the government has a tighter grip than ever on political and cultural life.
Youssef, originally a heart surgeon, rose to fame as a YouTuber and became a wildly popular TV host, mercilessly poking fun at presidents, generals and imams.
Dubbed the "Jon Stewart of Egypt" -- and at times collaborating with the US comedian whom he called his idol -- Youssef pushed free speech to the very limits. One show guest-starring Stewart showed goons in dark sunglasses march the American satirist onto stage with a black hood over his head, accused of being "a foreign spy", and ended with Stewart's overthrow of Youssef as the show's host. Youssef fled Egypt in after his TV show was suspended over his mocking of then presidential candidate field marshal Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, now the head of state.
Today, he lives in California and has built a new career as a standup comedian, author and podcaster, but his reflections on Egypt are bitter-sweet. But it was really good to find that people wanted to come out and wanted to laugh. A: Absolutely. Especially with English as your second language. So I was doing a show in Arabic. Now suddenly, I was challenging myself to do stand-up in English, which means I have to rewire my brain, and I have to rethink everything I know about how to utter the words, when to utter the words, the speed, the cadence, it was very, very, very challenging.
Q: What does your live show consist of? Is it mostly stories from your life? A: Think of it like a two-act play. The first act is my life in Egypt about the hardship. Every joke I say and every situation I tell, it is something that happened to me. British correspondent Gina Yashere explains that despite the U. Former DNC Chair Donna Brazile explains why she gave Hillary Clinton presidential debate questions in advance and describes how Democrats can rebuild after the election.
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