Comments made by Myriam Fares anger Egyptian fans

CAIRO - 23 June 2019: Lebanese singer Myriam Fares has raised controversy over not having performed concerts in Egypt for several years.

Her response to that question came as a shock to the Egyptians, as she said that she performed many concerts in Egypt before the revolution and then came to a halt in the period of security tensions in Egypt due to the revolution in 2011.

Later on, when security in Egypt became stable, and concerts began to be organized, the Lebanese singer stated that her situation changed. “I will be frank. I artistically evolved and my demands grew higher, which makes me a little expensive for Egypt,” stated Fares.

This statement has upset the Egyptian public, especially since Fares is not the most important Lebanese artist to perform concerts on Egyptian soil. There are big stars who still perform in Egypt like Elissa, Ragheb Alama, Nancy Ajram, Wael Jassar and other prominent Lebanese stars.

Faris' remarks did not only anger the public, but also the artists and music makers. Rami Gamal responded on his personal Instagram account “When my beloved country becomes defamed,I will forget any friendship between us. When Egypt’s name is mentioned, you should stand up in respect and in gratitude to the country and people who made you famous,” commented Gamal.

Gamal further left a comment on twitter saying “To the artist who considers herself too expensive for Egypt to afford, you should pay me what you owe me first before you say you are too much for Egypt.”

Event organizer Walid Mansour also ridiculed Fares on his personal account on Facebook, commenting: “As per the singer who said she was “too heavy” for Egypt, I want to know exactly how many kilos you weigh in order for me to decide how “heavy” you are. I swear to God, Fares used to take $20,000 in her concerts in Egypt, which at that time totaled up to almost LE 140,000. This is about how much I pay to rent just one sound system in a concert for Amr Diab, Hamaki, Tamer Hosny or Shereen, Ms. Heavy.”

No matter how “heavy” Miriam Fares became, she should never forget what Egypt is and what it does to almost all Arab stars to support and host their concerts until they gain fortune and fame. No one should ever ridicule or belittle Egypt no matter how big or “heavy” they become, because fame in the Middle East almost always starts in Egypt, and almost always ends in Egypt ,too.