Controversial Egyptian television host Reham Saeed is once again in hot water.
Fresh from serving a one-year suspension from broadcasting after her on-air comments that obese people "were a burden" on society, Saeed's popular show Sabaya El Kheir is off the air again after an episode featured the alleged mistreatment of animals.
Broadcast on Egyptian channel Al Nahar TV on December 3, the contentious segment showed Saeed joining a group of fox hunters on an expedition. Upon capturing their quarry, Saeed and the group immobilised the foxes by tying their legs.
Not long after the programme aired, viewers took to social media to voice their criticism and demand Sabaya El Kheir's cancellation.
Among them was Egyptian actor Mohamed Attia, who denounced Saeed’s actions as "an ugly thing".
“I cannot imagine that something like this could go unnoticed. This is not normal. What happened here is a crime,” he wrote.
اللي عملته ريهام سعيد شئ بشع لما المقاييس و تعذيب الحيوانات بالشكل ده شئ ضد الانسانية و مش قادر اتصور ان حاجة زي دي ممكن تمر مرور الكرام كده عادي .. اللي حصل ده جريمة #ريهام_سعيد_عديمه_الرحمه pic.twitter.com/qYM0t1UN5f
— Mohamed Attia (@MohamedAttia) December 3, 2020
Al Nahar TV released a statement the following day apologising for the segment and promised the episode would be removed from the network’s splatforms.
"Al Nahar TV announces its apology to viewers for yesterday's episode of the Sabaya El Kheir which only aimed to highlight the activity of hunting animals in Egypt and exporting them abroad," the statement detailed. "Al Nahar TV network confirms that the episode will be removed from all of the network's online platforms, including YouTube and social media channels."
While the move was welcomed, it wasn't enough to the stop Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation from launching a formal investigation into the programme.
As a result, the show was suspended from Saturday, December 5, until findings are released.
Who is Reham Saeed?
The news mars the on-screen return of one of Egypt's most controversial personalities.
Launching her career nearly two decades ago, Saeed found fame as the host of talk shows including Sabaya and Sabaya El Kheir. An opinionated host, Saeed often courted attention with her takes on varied topics.
In a 2015 episode of Sabaya El Kheir, she described Syrian refugees as "lost" and "disrespectful" after a segment in which she visited a Lebanese camp to distribute food and water.
In a 2019 episode of Sabaya that tackled obesity, meanwhile, Saeed accused overweight women of laziness. "You have lost all your femininity," she said. "You have lost your smile. You have lost everything."
Following the airing of Saeed's comments, Egyptian actress Engy Wegdan hit back at the presenter on social media.
"I have been athletic all my life, and I have put on weight. That’s normal, it happens, and I have also been heavier in the past, that’s also normal," she said in a video, which she posted to both YouTube and Instagram.
"I got married, and by the way my husband is thin and not fat," she continued. "Weight does not matter for either of us. And I know many thin people getting married to obese people. Looks do not count. Weight does not count."
The Supreme Council for Media Regulation also took a dim view of Saeed's comments and suspended her from broadcasting for a year.
Will Saeed finally call it quits?
In response to the 2019 controversy, Saeed shared a series of teary videos on Instagram defending her actions and declaring she would end her career.
"Never in my whole life will I work in media again, or be an actress again, and never will I take on this job again because stress is more dangerous than cancer, obesity and everything else," she said in one video.
"I have been stressed for 16 years. It is time that I live my life and care for my children, and stay close to God, spend time with my husband and become like you, a normal human being."
While Saeed managed to return to the small screen three months ago, her latest stunt could make that premature announcement a permanent one.
