Controversy Ignited in Egypt Due to Ramadan Talk Shows

Ramadan talk shows, which depend on hosting celebrities of art, sports, media and politics, sparked controversy in Egypt, including the “Divination” program presented by Basma Wahba on the “Al-Nahar” channel, and “Secret Ink” presented by Asma Ibrahim on the “Cairo and People” channel. And the “Interrogation” program, presented by the presenter, Nour Essam El-Din, on the “Al-Shams” channel, and the “VIP” program, presented by the anchor, Amira Badr, on the “Hey” channel, and other programs that have become a tradition followed every year.
Since the first day of Ramadan, these programs hosted a large number of artists, including Nelly Karim, May Omar, Muhammad Ragab, Rania Youssef, Muhammad Lotfi, Fathi Abdel Wahhab, Menna Fadali, Nahed Al-Sibai, writer Muhammad Al-Ghaiti, parliamentarian Farida Al-Shobashi, and the media personality. Tamer Amin, as well as festival performer Hassan Shakoush, whose episode sparked great controversy after threatening to withdraw from one of the episodes of the “Divination” program, against the backdrop of announcing some personal matters related to him in the presence of his wife, and the same program witnessed the withdrawal of the popular singer Saad Al-Saghir, after the program revealed One of the secrets of Al-Saghir’s life, who demanded before leaving the program’s studio not to broadcast the paragraph.
These programs usually depend on several paragraphs that include previous statements and apologies, and delve into the guest’s personal life and his differences with his colleagues, his family, and those around him. According to art critic Muhammad Abd al-Khaliq, “The phenomenon of talk shows began in the nineties of the last century intensively, and achieved great success, especially in the month of Ramadan, including the program (Express Dialogue) that was presented by the media Mona Al-Husseini, and the program (Hadith al-Madina) by the late Moufid. Fawzi, and although these programs were characterized by daring questions; But it did not reach the limit of transgression. Abdel-Khaleq added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “These programs have been presented with different names, formats, and presenters, and every year the dose of (special questions) increases, revealing details that are not of interest to the viewer and do not make any difference in the artistic life of the guest,” stressing that “with the spread of (social media) ) Excitement has become one of the most popular topics, which puts the guest at the top of the (trend) whenever his episode is full of problems, and unfortunately artists, producers and advertisers race over it, in search of the big gain.
On the question of whether the financial reward is an important factor in accepting the guests to talk about their personal lives, Abdel-Khaleq says, “The gain is double; A great financial gain in return for appearing in the episode and exposure to these embarrassing questions and situations, and the second gain is moral, because the artist’s appearance on (the trend) has become (unfortunately) one of the reasons for his fame, even if it was a negative appearance.
And Egyptian critic Fayza Hindawi confirms that “Ramadan talk shows have become dependent on (revealing the hidden) compared to the programs of senior media figures in the nineties,” adding to “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” the most prominent “Egyptian television programs presented by Tariq Habib, Ferial Saleh, and Salma Al-Shamaa.” For example, I talked about the artist’s acting scenes, how to embody the artistic personalities he presents, and the reasons for choosing and preparing for them, in order to preserve the viewer’s taste for him to enjoy, but we are currently watching paragraphs and conversations about marriage, divorce and disagreements within the artistic community.