October 7th was a career accelerator for Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef. Now he’s filling the halls with his “Middle Beast” tour, which also includes Israel. How is he doing in Berlin?
If you were to exaggerate it – and Bassem Youssef is the greatest exaggerator of all – you could say that October 7th was a career accelerator for him. The Egyptian comedian Youssef, a former heart surgeon, was a superstar in his country, a “Jon Stewart of the Middle East.” During the Arab Spring, 40 million people watched his satirical show Al Bernameg, the program. But the departure in Egypt was, as so often, followed by a military coup, and Youssef left the country literally at the last second. The new beginning in the USA was tough. He played to empty halls and he was bad. Then came October 7th, Israel’s war in Gaza began, and Youssef made an appearance on British presenter Piers Morgan’s show, representing the Arab perspective so desperately, funny and full of dark humor that the YouTube video has been viewed 22 million to date been viewed once. Bassem Youssef has been filling the halls ever since.