HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef (born 22 March 1974) is an Egyptian-American comedian, television host, and former surgeon. Beginning his career with ''The B+ Show'' (2011), which was inspired by his experiences during the
2011 Egyptian Revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...
, he later rose to prominence as the host of '' El Bernameg'' (2011–2014), a satirical comedy show focused on Egyptian politics. In 2015, Youssef hosted the 43rd International Emmy Awards in New York City. In 2013, Youssef was named on the ''Time'' 100 and on ''
Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
'''s 100 Leading Global Thinkers. His life and career were profiled in the 2017 American documentary film '' Tickling Giants,'' and he also authored the book ''Revolution For Dummies'' that same year. In 2023, Youssef drew international media attention after engaging in a virtual interview on the British talk show '' Piers Morgan Uncensored'' to discuss the
October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...
and the ensuing
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
in the context of the broader
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...
.


Education and medical career

Youssef graduated from
Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...
's Faculty of Medicine, majoring in cardiothoracic surgery, in 1998. He passed the
United States Medical Licensing Examination The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a three-step examination program for medical Professional licensure in the United States, licensure in the United States sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the ...
and has been a member of the Royal College of Surgeons ( MRCS) since February 2007. He practiced as a cardiothoracic surgeon in Egypt for 13 years, until his move into comedy and
political satire Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned. Political satir ...
. He also received training in cardiac and lung transplantation in Germany, after which he spent a year and a half in the United States working for a company that produces medical equipment related to cardiothoracic surgery. In January 2011, Youssef assisted the wounded in
Tahrir Square Tahrir Square (, ; ), also known as Martyr Square, is a public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations. The 2011 Egyptian revolution and the resignation of President of Egypt, ...
during the Egyptian revolution. Youssef has credited surgery for making him "a much harder working person, a nerd, a perfectionist."


Media career


2011–2014: Breakthrough in Egypt


''The B+ Show'' (2011)

Inspired by the
2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...
, Youssef created his first satirical show in March 2011. The initial idea came from his friend Tarek El Kazzaz. Entitled ''The B+ Show'' after his blood type, the program, at 5 minutes per episode, was uploaded to his
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel in May 2011 and gained more than five million views in the first three months alone. The show was shot in Youssef's laundry room using a table, a chair, one camera, and a mural of amateur photos from Tahrir Square that cost $100. The show was a collaboration by Youssef with Tarek El Kazzaz, Amr Ismail, Mohamed Khalifa, and Mostafa Al-Halawany. Youssef used social media to showcase his talent and his show gave a voice to the millions of Egyptians who were seething with anger from the traditional media's coverage of the Egyptian Revolution.


''Al Bernameg'' (2011–2014)

After the success of ''The B+ Show'', Egyptian channel ONTV, owned by Egyptian billionaire
Naguib Sawiris Naguib Onsi Sawiris ( ; ; born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian businessman. Sawiris is chairman of Weather Investments's parent company, and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding and Orascom Investment Holding S.A.E. Early li ...
, offered Youssef a deal for ''
Al Bernameg ''Al-Bernameg'' (, known in Egypt as ''El Bernameg'', pronunciation: lberˈnæːmeɡ literally "The Show") was a controversial Egyptian news satire program. The show was hosted by Bassem Youssef and was broadcast on the satellite channels Ca ...
'' (literally,''The Program'') a news satire show. Youssef had planned to move to
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
to practice medicine but instead signed his show's contract. With a budget of roughly half a million dollars, the series made him the first Internet-to-TV conversion in the Middle East. The show, which consisted of 104 episodes, premiered during
Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
1432 (2011) with Egyptian-American engineer Muhammad Radwan as its first guest. In his show, Youssef has parodied such Egyptian celebrities as show host Tawfik Okasha, composer Amr Mostafa, Salafist presidential candidate
Hazem Salah Abu Ismail Hazem Salah Abu Ismail (born 16 June 1961) is an Egyptian lawyer, Islamic preacher and politician who ran in the 2012 Egyptian presidential election and founded the Flag Party. Abu Ismail was born in Giza in 1961 and graduated with a law degree ...
, and
Mohamed ElBaradei Mohamed Mostafa ElBaradei (, ; born 17 June 1942) is an Egyptian law scholar and diplomat who served as the vice president of Egypt on an interim basis from 14 July 2013 until his resignation on 14 August 2013. He was the Director General of ...
, former head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...
and onetime presidential candidate. The show became the platform for many writers, artists, and politicians to speak freely about the social and political scene. ''Al-Bernameg'' success inspired a number of amateur initiatives on various social media channels, who credit ''The B+ Show'' as their inspiration. In June 2012,
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...
invited Youssef to ''The Daily Show'' for an extended interview, "I do know a little something about the humour business; your show is sharp, you're really good on it, it's smart, it's well executed, I think the world of what you're doing down there", Stewart said to Youssef. Tarek ElKazzaz convinced an old friend, Ahmed Abbas, to join QSoft as chief operations officer and Project Director for
Al Bernameg ''Al-Bernameg'' (, known in Egypt as ''El Bernameg'', pronunciation: lberˈnæːmeɡ literally "The Show") was a controversial Egyptian news satire program. The show was hosted by Bassem Youssef and was broadcast on the satellite channels Ca ...
. The show was renewed for a second season after a contract with a second channel,
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
, which premiered on 23 November 2012. The second season consisted of 29 episodes and has recorded one of the highest viewership ratings on both TV and internet with 40 million viewers on TV and more than 184 million combined views for his show on YouTube alone. The program, which began with a small group working at home with Youssef, moved from ONTV's smallest studio to Radio Theatre in Cairo's downtown, a theatre redesigned in the likeness of New York's Radio City, making it the first live audience show in Egypt. The contents of a typical show's broadcast have evolved, which began with a sarcastic take on current political events, and eventually incorporating the hosting of public figures and stars from various fields, as well as various artists' performances. Following the move, Youssef succeeded in increasing the show's worth by eight times in one year. The show gained tremendous success through its criticism of former Egyptian President
Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
. On the season's premiere, Youssef made the owner and coworkers of his channel the subject of his show, as an assurance that he is granted full freedom of expression, and that no topic was off limits. CBC did not, however, air his second episode, which also featured further criticism of a TV show host who filed a lawsuit against Youssef. The show returned to its regular schedule for the third episode. Just three episodes into the show, several lawsuits were filed against Youssef and his show, accusing him of insulting
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, Morsi and disrupting public order and peace. In March 2013, Youssef started writing a weekly column expressing his views for '' Al-Shorouk''; one of Egypt's most prominent and independent daily newspapers. Youssef also wrote newspaper columns, where he tackled taboo subjects such as atheism and questioning the commonly held view that
apostasy from Islam Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...
should be punishable by death. On 18 March 2014, he faced plagiarism accusations when he submitted an article to Al-Shorouk, an Egyptian newspaper. Entitled ‘Why Putin does not care,’ the piece was a comment on the events unfolding in Russia. Although it was written in Arabic, sharp-eyed Twitter users spotted striking similarities to a piece called ‘Why Russia No Longer Fears the West,’ by British writer Ben Judah, who wrote the article for ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' magazine. He later published an apology in ''Al-Shorouk'' newspaper for initially publishing an article without citing any references. As
Al Bernameg ''Al-Bernameg'' (, known in Egypt as ''El Bernameg'', pronunciation: lberˈnæːmeɡ literally "The Show") was a controversial Egyptian news satire program. The show was hosted by Bassem Youssef and was broadcast on the satellite channels Ca ...
continued with its growing success, Jon Stewart appeared as a guest on the show in June 2013. On 1 July 2013 ''America in Arabic'' (United Arab Emirates) debuted. He appeared for the second time on ''The Daily Show''. After a four-month break, ''Al Bernameg'' returned to air on
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
for its third series on 25 October 2013. The season premiere marked the first broadcast for the show since the
2013 Egyptian coup d'état The 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat or the Counter-revolutionary, Counter-revolution is an event that took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coalition to remove the democratically elected President of Egypt ...
had deposed Mohamed Morsi from the Egyptian presidency. Youssef criticised both the Morsi administration and the people's idolization of the Egyptian Defense Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi. The following day the CBC network issued a statement distancing the channel from the political stance taken by Youssef. The CBC network issued another statement, and decided to stop broadcasting ''Al Bernameg'' because of violations in the contract signed. Meanwhile, more than 30 complaints against Youssef and the show were filed at the General Prosecutor's office, accusing him of insulting the
Egyptian Armed Forces The Egyptian Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Egypt, Arab Republic of Egypt. The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces directs (a) Egyptian Army forces, (b) the Egyptian Navy, (c) Egyptian Air Force and (d) Egyptian Air Defense Forces. ...
and President Adly Mansour and describing the June 30 protests as a military coup, in addition to disrupting public order and peace. The General Prosecutor transferred some of the complaints for investigation, which were subject to the prosecutor's decision and judgment. After terminating the contract with CBC, the production company behind ''Al Bernameg'' received offers from different TV channels. The third season was scheduled to air during the first quarter of 2014. In February 2014 it was announced that Youssef had signed a deal with the Middle East Broadcasting Center and that they would start broadcasting ''Al Bernameg'' from 7 February on MBC MASR satellite channel. ''Al-Bernameg'' achieved unprecedented weekly viewership ratings for 11 consecutive weeks. On one of the shows, Youssef mocked the Egyptian military's claims to be able to cure hepatitis C and AIDS. In June 2014, after a six-week break during the 2014 Egyptian presidential election campaign, the ''Al-Bernameg'' team held a press conference where Youssef announced the termination of the show due to pressure on both the show and the airing channel. He felt that the political climate in Egypt was too dangerous to continue the show.


Arrest and investigation (2013)

On 1 January 2013, the daily newspaper '' Al-Masry Al-Youm'' reported that an Egyptian prosecutor was investigating Youssef on charges of maligning
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 Despite all of the controversy it sparks, ''Al Bernameg'' has been a major success. It is constantly topping the regional YouTube charts, making Youssef's YouTube channel the most subscribed to in Egypt. On 30 March 2013, an arrest warrant was issued for Youssef for allegedly insulting
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and Morsi. The move was seen by opponents as part of an effort to silence dissent against Morsi's government. Youssef confirmed the arrest warrant on his
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account and said he would hand himself in to the prosecutor's office, jokingly adding, "Unless they kindly send a police van today and save me the transportation hassle." The following day, he was questioned by authorities before being released on bail of 15,000 Egyptian pounds. The event sparked international media attention as well as a segment on Jon Stewart's ''The Daily Show'' in which he declared his support for Youssef, calling him a "friend" and "brother".


= Coup d'état

= Youssef had been a consistent supporter of the
2013 Egyptian coup d'état The 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat or the Counter-revolutionary, Counter-revolution is an event that took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coalition to remove the democratically elected President of Egypt ...
and was supportive of the media clampdown which included the arrests of several employees of various stations, despite it being carried out by the military with no due process, and celebrated the coup's aftermath in a song and dance number sung to the tune of Old MacDonald. Youssef backed the forcible removal of Morsi, declaring himself "very glad" with the putsch. As news reports were trickling in that dozens of
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
supporters had been shot dead by security forces, He tweeted that the entire incident amounted to nothing more than "blood for publicity" and blamed the organisation itself for its supporters being murdered. Youssef was widely recognized for his bold criticism of the Morsi government, however his approach also extended to labeling many of his opponents as being "Muslim Brotherhood", regardless of their actual affiliations. According to a Vox, "The Youssef who we do not typically see in the United States is the satirist who didn't just challenge the Muslim Brotherhood government — but who went a step further, vilifying the regular Egyptians who supported the Islamist government, characterizing them as lesser citizens or internal enemies in a way that played into Egypt's hate-filled political polarization, Sisi's coup, and the disastrous consequences of both. Indeed, Youssef cheered on the military coup — as well as the bloodshed of anti-coup protesters, because unlike him they were Islamists." Youssef's support for the military coup and his criticism of anti-coup protesters were evident in his public statements and social media activity. For instance, on 5 July 2013, he tweeted, "MB leadership sending its youths to die at army HQs to victimize themselves against the world. Blood for publicity. Cheap. #not_a_coup." This tweet has since been deleted. Following the killing of over 50 protestors in front of the
Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...
HQ on the morning of 7 July. Youssef reportedly made no comment other than "Kifaya" (enough) in response to the incident. Youssef characterized the MB as "the new form of Nazis," a statement he made both on his show and on social media.


Emigration from Egypt (2014)

After ''Al Bernameg'' ended, the Egyptian police under the El-Sisi regime raided the offices of the production company, arresting several employees and confiscating their computers. According to Youssef, the police told producer Amr Ismail that they would continue harassing the company if Youssef did not stop speaking publicly at international conferences. The Egyptian courts then levied a E£50 million fine against Youssef in a contract dispute with CBC. In the verdict, the courts condemned satirical television shows and implied that Youssef was disrupting the peace and inciting public unrest. Fearing he would be arrested if he stayed in Egypt, Youssef fled to Dubai on 11 November 2014. In March 2018, the Court of Cassation canceled the ruling against Bassem requiring him to pay 100 million pounds in compensation in favor of the Egypt Channel Group.


2015–present: Career in the United States

In January 2015, Harvard's Institute of Politics (IOP), at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, announced that Youssef would be a resident fellow for the spring semester. In February 2015, it was announced that Youssef was collaborating with ''The Daily Show'' producer Sara Taksler to launch a crowdfunding campaign for her documentary about his experience, '' Tickling Giants''. Youssef stated that he couldn't say no to her request to do the documentary as, "at the time, she was working at
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
, and I didn't want to say no to anybody working with Jon Stewart. So I basically said 'yes' to be on his good side, but I discovered it didn't really make any difference". In April 2015, Youssef spoke at
Women In The World Women in the World was a live journalism platform that was founded by Tina Brown in 2010 to "discover and amplify the unheard voices of global women on the front lines of change." First held at New York’s Hudson Theater, and thereafter at ...
conference held in New York City. In November 2015, Youssef hosted the 43rd International Emmy Awards in New York City. In the fall of 2016, Youssef was a visiting scholar at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). His research interests were stated as "political satire and its role in disrupting political, social and religious taboos." In February 2016, it was announced that Youssef had reached a deal with Fusion to produce a digital series, ''Democracy Handbook with Bassem Youssef''. The show premiered online and in a one-hour broadcast special in mid-July 2016. '' Tickling Giants'', a documentary film about Youssef directed by Sara Taksler, premiered on 14 April 2016, at the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
.
John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...
and
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor, musician and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sit ...
were moderators for Q&As at screenings in Los Angeles.


Advocacy during the Gaza war

In October 2023, Youssef signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter, urging President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
to push for a ceasefire and an end to the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
. On 17 October 2023, Youssef drew international media attention after engaging in a virtual interview on '' Piers Morgan Uncensored'', in which he spoke—often satirically—about the recent Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, as well as the broader
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...
. He also drew comparisons with the ongoing
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
and criticized the Israeli military's tactics in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
, questioning how the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
would perceive Israel's response to the attack if it was being conducted by Russian troops. The video garnered 17 million views by 22 October, becoming the channel's most viewed video. On 1 November 2023, Youssef was brought back onto the show for an in-person interview after
Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...
visited him in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
for a more serious discussion, with Youssef mostly refraining from satire and debating with Morgan on
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
and the historic
Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...
. Since his interview with Morgan, Youssef has continued his pro-Palestinian commentary by engaging in debates on numerous podcasts and news channels, such as the '' PBD Podcast'', ''
ABC News Australia ABC News, also known as ABC News and Current Affairs, is a public news service produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The service covers both local and world affairs, broadcasting both nationally as ABC News, and across the Asia- ...
'', the
Lex Fridman Alexei "Lex" Fridman (; born 15 August 1983) is an American computer scientist and podcaster. Since 2018, he has hosted the ''Lex Fridman Podcast'', where he interviews notable figures from various fields such as science, technology, sports, and ...
Podcast, the LeBatard YouTube show, ''
TRT World TRT Global, previously named TRT World, is a Turkish public broadcaster which broadcasts in English 24 hours a day and is operated by the TRT and based in the Ulus quarter of Ankara. It provides worldwide news and current affairs focusing on ...
'', ''
Al Arabiya Arabiya (, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group. The channel is a flagship of the media c ...
'', ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...
'' and
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's
HARDtalk ''HARDtalk'' is a BBC television and radio programme which was broadcast on the British and international feeds of the BBC News channel, and on the BBC World Service, from 31 March 1997 to 26 March 2025. Broadcast times and days vary, depend ...
. Regarding the 2024 Presidential Election, Youssef stated in the interview that he doesn't care about former President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
winning but doesn't want President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
to win re-election. In his words, "All we asked him ( Biden) for was a ceasefire. Stop the killing. Stop the killing."


Zeteo podcast

On 19 April 2024, it was announced that Youssef would join Mehdi Hasan's new media company, Zeteo, as co-host for their new podcast 'We're Not Kidding'.


Filmography


Film


Television


Accolades and influence

In 2013, Youssef was named one of the " 100 most influential people in the world" by ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine and one of ''
Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
'' magazine's 100 Leading Global Thinkers. In November 2013, Youssef's role in the media was recognized by the committee to Protect Journalists, which awarded him with the International Press Freedom Award, along with three other journalists. In 2015, Youssef received an
honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
and delivered the
commencement address In the United States, a commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the ...
for the College of Online & Continuing Education at
Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with ...
. ''Al Bernameg'' was chosen by
South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
, one of the largest international interactive festivals, as the first and most successful
internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
to TV conversion story in the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. ''Al Bernameg''s
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel was the first channel in the
MENA The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...
region to reach one million subscribers and was awarded the gold button trophy. Youssef's comedic style has led to him being dubbed "Egypt's
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...
" after Stewart's satirical ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'', which had itself inspired Youssef to pursue a career in television. In 2013, he was named on ''Time'' 100. On 2 May 2024, Bassem Youssef was awarded the ″Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse″,
College Historical Society The College Historical Society (CHS) – popularly referred to as The Hist – is a debating society at Trinity College Dublin. It was established within the college in 1770 and was inspired by the club formed by the philosopher Edmund ...
,
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
. In his talk he spoke about advocacy for
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
and the Israel–Gaza war, being arrested for jokes, and the crackdown on free expression.


Personal life

In 2010, Youssef married Hala Diab, with whom he has a daughter and a son. The family resides in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. Diab is half
Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
and half
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
; her Palestinian family is originally from
Ramla Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...
and was displaced to the
Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip The occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic began in 1959 following the dissolution of the All-Palestine Protectorate, which had ruled the Gaza Strip as a client state of Egypt since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and its mer ...
during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
. Youssef identifies as a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
. He has refused to return to
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
while it is under the rule of
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has been serving as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. After the 2011 Egyptian revolution and 201 ...
. Youssef became a naturalised American citizen in 2019.


Bibliography

* Youssef, Bassem (2017). Revolution For Dummies.
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
.


See also

* Television in Egypt *
Capital Broadcasting Center The Capital Broadcasting Center () (CBC ()) is a satellite television network in Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwes ...
(CBC), a TV channel in Egypt * MBC Masr * ONTV (Egypt) * OTV (Channel) * Reem Maged *
Yosri Fouda Yosri Fouda ( ', ), is an Egyptian investigative reporter, author, and television host. He established Al Jazeera Media Network, Al Jazeera's office in London and was one of the star figures in the channel until he resigned in 2009. Fouda also wo ...


Notes


References


External links

* *
Profile and articles at alarabiya.net

Articles on shorouknews.com
(in Arabic)
AmericaBlAraby on YouTube
(in Arabic)
Albernameg website

Albernameg YouTube Channel

Appearances
on
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Bassem Youssef at Oslo Freedom Forum

''The Daily Show'' with Jon Stewart clip.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youssef, Bassem 1974 births Cairo University alumni Cardiac surgeons Egyptian surgeons Democracy activists from Cairo Egyptian dissidents Egyptian parodists Egyptian satirists Egyptian activists Egyptian revolutionaries Egyptian television presenters Egyptian emigrants to the United States Egyptian YouTubers Egyptian Muslims Living people Physicians from Cairo People of the Egyptian revolution of 2011 Mass media people from Cairo American parodists American satirists Activists for Palestinian solidarity Anti-Zionists