Egyptian comedian Ahmed Adam has drawn outrage after mocking the victims of the recent bombings in Syria's Aleppo.
The mockery came in a segment of a recent episode of his show "Bani Adam Show," which airs on prominent Egyptian TV channel Al-Hayah . In the segment, Adam was addressing the recently renewed violence in Aleppo, which left more than 250 people dead and the city on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe . The comedian first criticized international media, suggesting that their coverage of the bombings was biased and inaccurate.
"If you're confused about what's going on in Syria today and you don't know who is doing what, don't be, just turn on Al-Jazeera, the BBC or the WC, any channel of theirs and see what they're saying and promoting, so that you can rest assured that the opposite of that is what is happening," Adam said.
He added that international media outlets are turning the events in Aleppo into a "sob-fest and a tragedy," as he said in a sarcastic manner that they're "screaming 'people are dying in Syria, save Syria, Aleppo is being destroyed'," drawing laughter from the TV audience.
He then went on to ridicule the victims of the violence, saying he found it absurd that these media outlets were even able to take calls from Aleppo residents on TV when Aleppo "doesn't have water, electricity or telephones." This seemed to contradict his preceding comments suggesting that the extent of the destruction in Aleppo was being exaggerated or falsified.
"'Hello, I'm speaking to you from Aleppo.. Ouch'," Adam said in a skit in which he mockingly mimicked an Aleppo resident getting hit by an airstrike while on the phone with a TV channel. He went on to suggest that the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo was not only being exaggerated but fabricated and staged.
"I saw this one guy who had white makeup powder put in his hair and face by them, while the back of his neck was completely clean. They say he came from under the rubbles, he's bleeding but not injured and his face is full of powder," Adam said.
"I was like: Was he hit by a barber? Maybe a barber hit him with a powder rocket or something," he mockingly said.
The segment drew outrage from the online community, which caused the Arabic hashtag "Ahmad Adam" to become a top trending topic on Twitter in Egypt on Wednesday, in addition to the launch of another hashtag calling for the boycott of the comedian .
"Ahmed Adam proved that he doesn't belong to the sons of Adam, this lowlife didn't realize that the blood of the children who have fallen in Aleppo follows all of the jokers," wrote one Twitter user.
"The dishonorable Egyptian media personality Ahmed Adam turns victims of the Syrian war into material for mockery. I, Qasim Solimany, consider this lowlife media personality the Egyptian screen," wrote another.
Prominent Syrian singer Samo Zaen also shared a strong reaction on social media, writing in a Facebook post : "I request from all media outlets, all respectable journalists and media personalities and all officials in the beloved Egypt, a reply and immediate apology from the comedian of the name Ahmed Adam, regarding what he presented on his show about Syrians and the amount of insults and mockery he put forth on the show!"
"Is it possible that death has become a laughing matter? My friend Ahmed Adam who is stripped of humanity, know that you have shocked Syrians everywhere with your words, please apologize, you and your network," added Zaen.
Following the outbreak of outrage, Al-Hayah reportedly issued an apology late on Wednesday. In the statement, the network emphasized that the views expressed in the segment are Adam's alone and that they do not in any way speak for Al-Hayah.
It added that it has nothing but respect and appreciation for the Syrian people and that it has taken action towards what occurred, which will result in an apology being presented in the next episode of Adam's show.