Lebanese superstar Haifa Wehbe was invited as Star Academy's guest of honor on the third episode of the talent show this week. And although everyone seemed to be thrilled to have the diva on the show, one person was clearly unhappy.
Contestant Lilia Ben Sheikh insulted Wehbe on the show. While talking to fellow contestants, Lilia described Haifa as made up of “silicone,” and implied that her music is not in the same league as that of other stars such as Asala Nasri.
Head of the Academy, Claudia Merchillian, refused Lilia's behavior and decided to punish her for the incident.
Although Lilia came on top on last week's episode and was given immunity from elimination for the coming week, Claudia decided to punish the guilty contestant by disallowing her from singing on this week's live show.
Lilia was told off by the tough Head, who told her in a stern voice: “Our motto is 'No to Racism.' Today I was told what you said about Haifa, and that person wouldn't lie. How did you allow yourself to insult Haifa and her fans, regardless of what you think?”
“When you first arrived at the Academy we spoke about many thing, one of them was 'yes for respecting others and no to making fun of them.' and it was only yesterday that I told you off for the way you behaved towards fellow contestant Menah,” Claudia continued.
Lilia profusely apologized for her behavior, but Claudia was having none of it and threw her out of rehearsals.
After the rehearsals, Claudia spoke to Lilia and gave her a little piece of advice: if she wants to become an artist then she must pay attention to her statements. And that's when she told her that she wouldn't be singing on next week's show.
Do you think Lilia deserved the punishment she received?
