The name of Egyptian artist Ahmed Helmy topped search engines on "X" on Friday after he announced the passing of his older brother. Thousands of followers expressed their condolences, turning his social media pages into a mourning book for his brother's demise. Helmy mourned his brother Khaled Helmy in a post on his pages across "X," "Facebook," and "Instagram."
He wrote: "My brother Khaled Mohamed Helmy Abdel Rahman has passed away. The condolences are at the Police Mosque in Sheikh Zayed on Sunday, December 10. We ask for your prayers."
Helmy's Facebook page became a large mourning space that gathered 11,000 people within 4 hours, including screenwriter Abdel Rahim Kamal, who wrote: "May God have mercy on him extensively," and Egyptian singer Iman Abdel Ghani, who wrote: "Eternity belongs to God... May God have mercy on him and forgive him."
On "Instagram," many artists offered their condolences to Helmy for the death of his brother, including Lebanese media personality Ali Jaber, and artists Yasmin Abdel Aziz, Ahmed Al-Saadani, Fifi Abdo, and singer Latifa. Star Mona Zaki also mourned her husband's brother, writing on her official Facebook page: "Khaled Helmy, my husband's brother, has passed away... We ask for your prayers."
Presenter Radwa El Sherbiny shared a picture of Helmy and his late brother on her "X" page, writing: "Death of artist Ahmed Helmy's brother... Indeed, we belong to God and indeed to Him, we shall return... We ask for your prayers for him."
Helmy received condolences during his brother’s funeral at the family cemetery in Qalyubia province (north of Cairo) after Friday prayers.
Four days prior, Helmy had posted on his Facebook page mourning artist Ashraf Abdel Ghafoor, writing above a picture of the late artist: "Indeed, we belong to God and indeed to Him, we shall return." Before that, he had mourned artist Tarek Abdel Aziz, who passed away while filming one of his works.
It is worth noting that Helmy is one of the prominent stars in the Egyptian artistic scene, having presented several comedic films, some of which belong to "dark comedy," including "Mido Mashakel," "Mataf Sanaa," "Keda Reda," "1000 Mabrouk," "Asif Ala Al-Izaa'aj," "Asal Aswad," "X-Large," "Made in Egypt," and "Wahid Tani." He initially gained fame through children's programs, including "La'ib Ayale," "Man Sirbah Al-Bonbon," and "Shwayet Ayale," and he has also presented many television and radio series.
