Moroccan comedian Abdelali Lamhar, known as “Taliss,” sparked widespread controversy and resentment among Moroccans after inappropriate jokes that the public deems offensive to Moroccan women.
While performing at the National Association for Media and Publishers’ honoring ceremony for the Moroccan national football team, the comedian joked that the team’s wins at the Qatar World Cup allowed him “to hug many women around him at cafes.”
“If the team had gotten to the semi-finals, I would have impregnated one,” Taliss told the crowd, among whom were politicians, athletes and media figures, led by Minister of Youth and Culture Mehdi Bensaïd, and President of the Royal Football Federation Faouzi Lekjaa.
Moroccan women and men strongly criticized the “joke,” condemning the comedian for his devastating statement that to many, condone “rape culture and sexual harassment.”
The statement was seen as an “insult” to Moroccan women, with many prominent cultural actors and social media personalities calling out the statement.
On her Instagram story, actress Sanaa Akroud wrote: “A joke or a comedic statement is a dangerous psychological and linguistic combination.”
“Its danger lies precisely in its sensitivity, as a tiny, thin and fragile thread separates the comedian from the absurd. Be careful with your language; it either honors our culture and education or it exposes our weaknesses and shortcomings.”
Many women also took to the Moroccan online complaint platform, to lodge official requests to competent authorities against the comedian.
In addition, the Regional Coordination of the Moroccan Forum for Human Rights in Marrakech denounced in the strongest terms the comedian’s “immoral behavior” in a statement.
The artist’s depiction of the Moroccan woman was unacceptable to the committee, which called on “Taliss to issue an official apology to Moroccan women for this unfortunate statement in front of government officials, athletes and national media.”
As of this time, Taliss has yet to react to the controversy.
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