Lebanese artist Nawal El Zoghbi sparked controversy and became the talk of social media after criticizing the caretaker Minister of Public Health.
The Lebanese artist faced sharp backlash, trending in Lebanon with the hashtag "Nawal El Zoghbi is Despicable." This was in response to a post where Nawal commented, "No need to panic," about the news of caretaker Minister Hamad Hassan testing positive for COVID-19— a phrase Hassan has often used since the outbreak began. Critics viewed her comment as gloating due to Hassan’s infection, arguing she should have wished him a speedy recovery, especially given the efforts he made since the pandemic started. Nawal deleted her comment after the backlash and replaced it with, "The owner of the truth is the sultan," but continued to face abusive remarks demanding an apology for her actions.
Within hours, a new hashtag emerged from Nawal's supporters across the Arab world titled "Nawal El Zoghbi is a Princess," asserting that she is far removed from gloating about anyone's illness. Among the comments was, "Nawal El Zoghbi is made of humanity; she surely did not intend to gloat about the illness. I think if you review all of Nawal's posts, you will see she has never belittled anyone's worth," and "They tried to tarnish her image in Lebanon; she has become a trending princess all over the Arab world."
Her colleague Maguy Bou Ghosn defended her, referring to the trending topic and stating, "You have a clean, honorable history and a national and humane sense as big as the world. They wait for any word that could be twisted. #Nawal_El_Zoghbi_Princess, and more than that, she is loving and has high morals and has never wished harm upon anyone."
One follower also remarked, “In the end, a minister comes and goes, and governments come and go, but Nawal El Zoghbi remains a princess who has given so much to her art and her country! We still have this art in Lebanon; please leave it for us.”
