The Egyptian actress Rania Youssef issued a press statement addressing the Egyptian public following her recent remarks about the hijab during an interview with an Iraqi journalist, which sparked widespread controversy and led some lawyers to file lawsuits against her.
In her statement, Rania said, "It is customary that every profession has a strict and clear law that regulates it with specific clauses and articles. However, it is known that every profession also has a human code of ethics alongside the rigid legal provisions, as the code of ethics acts as a shadow of the law. The media code of ethics obliges media practitioners to respect their guests and their desire to present themselves in the way they wish, especially if these guests are community celebrities."
Rania added, "In reality, I had decided to limit or temporarily refrain from press and television interviews, particularly those that rely on sharing video recordings across social media, in pursuit of more views. This 'trending' culture often necessitates cutting and altering the content of what was said and showcasing compiled snippets of the interview that give a distorted and misleading meaning to the essence of the conversation."
She requested that everyone refrain from making hasty judgments based on edited and out-of-context clips from the interview. Rania also asked her lawyer to start taking all necessary legal actions in Egypt and Iraq and to inform the relevant authorities and the Supreme Council for Media of the deception and distortion of her dialogue. She extended her sincere apologies to the Egyptian public, particularly to anyone who saw or heard the edited interview and mistakenly believed that these meanings came from her. She also apologized for conducting that interview.
Rania concluded her statement: "Therefore, I felt compelled to write this statement to my beloved audience, especially in my dear country Egypt, where I always stand against everything that affects art and the Egyptian artist with the intention of deliberate distortion. I urge all professional journalists to unite to protect the dignity of the word, as the word is the only bridge for an artist to connect with the hearts of their audience."
The actress Rania Youssef is currently facing significant backlash, starting with a leaked statement where she declared her refusal to wear the hijab, asserting that it is not obligatory, followed by another leak of a voice message she sent to the program's host reiterating her statements that sparked a wave of anger against her.
