She issued a public apology after her controversial statement

It has been a rocky few days for Lebanese performer Myriam Fares, who has faced backlash from Egyptian fans. Ahead of the Morocco’s Mawazine Festival on Saturday, the 36-year-old claimed that her lack of concerts in Cairo is due to the fact that they can’t afford her.

In a press conference prior to the show at the festival, Myriam was asked by a journalist about her sudden drop in concerts in Egypt over the years. Prior to the Arab Spring in 2011, the Lebanese artist was somewhat residing in the North African, with regular gigs throughout the week. She answered the reporter, saying: “I will be honest with you; I’ve grown over the years and so did the pay and my demands, so it became a bit heavy on Egypt.”

 

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What was understood from her statement is that in the years after the revolution, she has become a bigger star. Now that she is a better-known artist, getting her to perform would be more expensive, and so will be tickets to the concert, and that is something they can’t afford. It seems like Myriam was unaware that her honesty would cause such a backlash, as fans, industry professionals and even local media took to social media to voice their anger regarding her comments.

One of the people who spoke out against Myriam is Egyptian singer and actor Ahmed Fahmi. In 2014, the two starred alongside one another in Ramadan series Itiham. He replied to her comments sarcastically, tweeting: “Now you are too much for Egypt. Learn from the stars of the Arab world. You will understand that you did the biggest mistake of your life with this statement.”

Moreover, Egyptian songwriter Amir Teima weighted in on the controversy, tweeting, “Most Lebanese megastars like Elissa, Nawal [El Zoghby], Nancy [Ajram], Ragheb [Alama], and the great Majida El Roumi have performed in Egypt after the revolution. You and I both know they get paid more than you do. Don’t attack Egypt; if it’s not out of respect, do it out of wit.”

In response to all of this Myriam released a statement and a video, clarifying the situation and apologising to her Egyptian fans. The singer stated that her Lebanese dialect was the main cause of confusion and that her words were taken out of context. In the statement, she said: “I didn’t exalt over all my colleagues nor over Egyptians. I’m the one who’s been repeating in all my press conferences and interviews that I started my career in Lebanon but Egypt was the one to grant me my stardom.”

 

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In a video released by Egyptian news outlet, Youm7, she thanked Egyptian singer Hany Shaker that he understood her and what she meant. She emphasised that this isn’t the first time that she talks well about Egypt, and that she always states that her career boomed in the North African country. She went on to apologise again for any misunderstanding that may have occurred.

 

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Images: Instagram