After actor Hassan Hosny refused to apologize for his highly offensive remarks toward Moroccan women, Egypt's Actors Syndicate has stepped in to try and end the controversy with an apology of its own on his behalf.
The controversial remarks were made in a video with Saudi Arabian actor Majeed Alrhedi. In this conversation, Alrhedi said that he would like to get married and spend his honeymoon in Morocco, to which Hosni replied with "why would you take a sandwich to a restaurant?"
Moroccans took offense to this remark and believe that the actor was "dubbing the country as a country of prostitution." Though he refused to apologize to the Moroccan public over the remarks, Hosni attempted to clarify his statement and said he did not mean to insult anyone. Instead, he merely meant to compliment Moroccan women and did not, in any way, mean to demean them.
"This man doesn't represent the Egyptian people. Whoever does wrong by Morocco, then he's done wrong by Egypt. We have only love and respect for you."
"Egyptian actor Hassan Hosny: Moroccan women are cheaper than sandwiches"
However, with the Moroccan and Egyptian public's backlash and Hosni's refusal to apologize, Egypt's Actors' Syndicate has released a public statement apologizing for the actor's remarks.
Ashraf Zaki, president of Egypt's Actors' Union, apologized for the actor's behavior to the Moroccan public. However in a separate Egyptian TV show on Channel Ten, Zaki stated that the media maliciously misrepresented the comments made by the actor and insisted that there was no vicious intent toward the Moroccan people.