Bassem Youssef is returning to Piers Morgan Uncensored. Two weeks after his viral interview, in which he gave his opinion on the Israel-Gaza war with a satirical take describing the conditions Palestinians in Gaza are facing and the threat of more attacks from the Israeli military, the Egyptian comedian has been interviewed by Piers Morgan once again, in a conversation that yet to be aired.
This time, Youssef has spoken to the British host in person. Youssef has posted pictures of himself and Morgan at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles on Instagram, promising “a deep calm conversation about a very complicated issue”.
“I tried to talk to an audience who never get exposed to our side of the story. No sound bites, no trending phrases, no attempts to score points for reach and views . Just an attempt to have our voices heard. I hope it will be something that will be used for a longer time, not just for the heat of the moment. I think it will be aired tomorrow,” Youssef wrote in the caption.
The original interview, which was posted on YouTube on October 18, has raked in more than 20 million views to date. Morgan has said that it is his most-watched interview since his show was launched last year.
On October 20, Youssef has suggested they do a “round two” and said he “truly enjoyed” their conversation, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to Morgan.
“Let’s have a one-on-one interview in the studio over coffee and without a faulty ear piece. Who could have imagined? Until last March I was blocked by you on Twitter (I deserved it). You were very gracious about it even though you discovered it a minute before we went on air. But since then we have had wonderful conversations,” Youssef wrote.
He also added that he “hates” Piers’s views, but said talking to him was an “absolute joy”.
Twenty eight thousand people retweeted the suggestion, leading to – as Youssef put it – "round two".
In the original interview, Youssef shared that his wife, who is half Palestinian, still had family in Gaza, who he referenced when Morgan asked about his opinion on the Hamas attacks.
“Oh, it was terrible, of course,” Youssef replied. “I mean, we get all our news second-hand because my wife’s family lives in Gaza. They have cousins and uncles there and their house also was bombed.
“We haven't been able to communicate with them in the past three days. Communication has been lost so we don't know how they are doing, but we are used to that.”
Bassem then switched gears, taking on a satirical stance as he attempted to highlight the struggles Palestinians have been facing under Israel.
“Those Palestinians, they’re very dramatic. ‘Ah, Israel is killing us,’ but they never die,” he declared. “I mean, they always come back. They’re very difficult to kill, very difficult people to kill. I know, because I’m married to one. I tried many times. I try to get to her every time, but she uses our kids as human shields.”
Although Morgan noted that Youssef was using “dark humour” in response, he asked the comedian to be serious about the topic.
