Moroccan Singer Ibtissam Moumni, widely known as Miss Morocco, has apologized over an insulting comment that she made about Egyptian women following the cancellation of Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred’s concert in Egypt.
Moumni posted on social media after the cancellation was announced: “You think that artist Saad Lamjarred will hold a concert and harass your daughters, who are like men.”
Many Egyptians attacked Moumni for the insulting comment.
The singer wrote an apology days later on her Instagram story.
“Egypt is a brotherly country. It’s dear to our hearts along with its women and people, and I respect it. It is the country of culture and civilization. I meant the small number who attacked Morocco and its women. I certainly did not mean to generalize because generalization is the language of the ignorant,” she wrote.
She added: “Saad Lamjarred is just a Moroccan, Arab and international artist. The [rape] case is just an accusation, as nothing has been proven against him. Those who took the decision to cancel [the concert] mixed art and personal matters. I, being a Moroccan artist who appreciates his art, stood with the truth because they attacked him without any reason.”
She went on to say that Lamjarred is a first-rate artist in Morocco and the Arab World, so he must be respected.
Moumni concluded, saying she did not want to create a quarrel on social media between Egypt and Morocco.
The cancellation of Lamjarred’s concert in Egypt came after a wave of anger on social media demanded for its cancellation.
Social media users circulated a hashtag to cancel the concert and boycott it if held.
An official source in the ETbelArabi company said that it removed the concert posters from its social media accounts and officially canceled Lamjarred’s concert in Egypt, out of respect for the Egyptian public.
Lamjarred has been accused of raping two women in France and one in the United States. The singer was held in France for almost a year over one of the cases, but prosecutors eventually dropped the charges.
The singer held his first public concert in over three years last December in Riyadh, which drew disapproval from many Saudi women on social media.
However, the allegations against Lamjarred have done little to hurt his reputation.
The star has received praise and words of solidarity from other Moroccan celebrities and continues to get millions of views on his new music videos. He also had his legal fees in one of the cases covered by the King of Morocco himself.
