Egyptian actress and singer Youssra is having a successful Ramadan so far. She’s starring in Beyond the Realm of Suspicion – in a role that she says breaks out of the stereotypical character of "female victim" that, in the past, she’s often played.
A brush with a world of a different kind, however, has left her a little bruised this week.
On Twitter, the star was congratulated on her work by Lebanese Minister of Interior Nohad Machnouk. But later, what appeared to be screenshots of her response were circulated widely online – suggesting she had no idea who he was.
In a what appeared to be a later deleted tweet, which was widely shared on twitter and Facebook, Youssra appears to reply to Machnouk’s compliments by asking “who are you, darling?”
To make matters worse, she seems to address the Minister as a female, too.
@zelaky @_ahmed67 @Youssra @NohadMachnouk pic.twitter.com/ojY5Jpt4Ni
— L'écrivain (@AkramMustapha1) 18 June 2016
#FoukMostawaElShobohat is a beautiful series. The evil plot is strong, big greeting to actress Youssra, @Youssra and to her great performance. And welcome to Twitter.
@NohadMachnouk Thanks darling, who are you?
Was Youssra really surprised by Machnouk’s identity? It's possible that the embarrassing tweet has been faked. A more knowledgeable response, which now remains on Twitter, is claimed to have been Youssra’s original reply.
@NohadMachnouk شكرا معالي الوزير على الاشادة بالمسلسل واهتمامك بالفن والاعمال الدرامية، اشادتك وسام على صدري
— Youssra (@Youssra) 18 June 2016
@NohadMachnouk Thanks your excellency for praising the series and you being caring about entertainment and drama, your compliment is like an insignia (medal) on my chest.
There’s good reason to be sceptical about the embarrassing tweet: the widely circulated picture doesn’t show a date or time, as most screengrabs on Twitter would. And Machnouk's picture is clearly visible in his Twitter profile. Is Youssra being trolled – and by twitterers who want to paint her, of all things, as ignorant Lebanese politics?
Regardless of her political knowledge, Youssra’s show Fouk Mostawa El-Shobohat will continue throughout Ramadan. As for Machnouk? Some people think the Minister should have more serious things on his mind.
The series is talking a lot of your excellency’s time, you should be more focused on security, since no one else is #FoukMostawaElShobohat
