Lebanese politician and journalist come to blows on live television

Debate on US sanctions on Lebanese individuals spirals into violence

Studio staff intervene as politician Wiam Wahhab and journalist Simon Abou Fadel fight on talk show Sar el Waqt. MTV Lebanon/Twitter

Two prominent Lebanese personalities came to physical blows live on prime-time television on Thursday night, prompting army intervention.

The altercation occurred between politician Wiam Wahhab, a former minister allied with the March 8 Hezbollah-led movement, and journalist Simon Abou Fadel who is associated with the March 14 anti-Hezbollah movement, during a segment of a political talkshow, Sar el Waqt.

The two personalities were debating the issue of US sanctions on Lebanese individuals accused of corruption and having ties with Hezbollah.

They exchanged heated words when Mr Wahhab said the US sanctions “are worth as much as my shoes”.

“You can do whatever you want with your shoes later. That’s a problem between you and your shoes,” Mr Abou Fadel replied.

Mr Wahhab’s response was unintelligible, before the argument evolved into a shouting match, with each man telling the other to “shut up” and “no, you shut up.”

Then Mr Wahhab threw his water glass at Mr Abou Fadel, who punched the politician in response, causing Mr Wahhab’s glasses to fly off.

A flurry of slaps and thumps followed between the two as the show’s crew ran in to break up the two men.

A video circulating on social media showed the fight later gravitated outside to the studio car park.

Mr Abou Fadel could be seen getting dragged away by spectators while the army intervened to break up the altercation.

He later reappeared on the show with a bruised eye and a bleeding forehead.

“My face is a reflection of my conscience,” he said to the show’s host Marcel Ghanem.

It is not the first time a fight has broken out on Mr Ghanem’s programme.

Last year, members of the Sar el Waqt audience brawled with supporters of the political party the Free Patriotic Movement on live television.