Arts
The artistic and social circles have been abuzz with controversy following recent statements by Egyptian actor Ahmed El Awady, which sparked a widespread wave of sharp criticism from women across social media platforms. El Awady recently responded with an emotional tone to this backlash, vehemently denying that his words were intended to liken women to cars, suggesting his expressions were misunderstood. In a video posted on his Facebook account, El Awady firmly clarified that he "is not so naive as to become an enemy of women, as he has women in his family." He emphasized that the statements attributed to him were "completely unfounded," and that the issue was reduced to a comparison between one car and another. He expressed indignation at suddenly being portrayed as an "enemy of women who looks down upon them disrespectfully," asserting that he never intended to imply anything negative. He maintained he was speaking generally about cars and that his "words were taken out of context" from their original discussion, noting that if he meant to offend, he would not have mentioned his mother. The roots of the controversy trace back to his appearance on the "Qissati" podcast with presenter Mohamed Qais, where El Awady used a car analogy to discuss his past romantic relationships. Qais had asked him which of these relationships had been the most distinctive in his life, prompting El Awady to liken different stages of his emotional life to various types of cars, elaborating on the difference between a "Mitsubishi" and a "Mercedes" model. This analogy provoked strong reactions from social media followers, with some connecting his comments to his previous relationship with actress Yasmine Abdel Aziz. These remarks drew sharp criticism from female media figures and critics, including Radwa El Sherbiny, Yasmine El Khatib, and Shaki El Monairy, in addition to art critic Magda Kheirallah, all of whom deemed the analogy employed as clearly insulting to women. Conversely, media personality Tamer Amin adopted a more defensive stance towards El Awady, despite also criticizing the use of such analogies when discussing human relationships. Although actress Yasmine Abdel Aziz did not directly comment on her ex-husband's statements, maintaining silence across her official accounts, El Awady later issued a public apology. In it, he affirmed his appreciation and respect for her, acknowledging her role in a part of his artistic journey. However, this apology did not manage to quell the ongoing heated debate ignited by his initial remarks.
