By the time the revolution was ending on the squares and streets of Cairo
another revolution was starting in the most unlikely location
in the laundry room of the apartment of a young cardiac surgeon with one desk
one camera, trying to imitate a show he was addicted to for many years.
Yes, this young doctor thought that just by commenting on videos, using fast editing, sound affects
over the shoulder photos, and even on location reports that he could make a political satire show.
We made it to TV and we made a lot of noise as we were at it.
And after just one season we were one of the most watched shows in Eqypt.
We were still the most watched on Youtube. Our channel reached more than 200 million hits.
After just the second episode, we became the most watched program in the Arab world.
Every week an estimated 30 million people tune in.
Egyptians have never seen anything like this before.
Bassem saved his best material for former president Mohamed Morsi.
Look at what Morsi wore when he received an honorary doctorate in Pakistan.
Now look at how Bassem portrayed it on the air.
Bassem was accused of damaging Egypt-Pakistan relations.
Egyptians across the country laughed themselves silly but Morsi was not amused by the hat joke.
A warrant was issued for Bassem's arrest.
He was formally accused of insulting the president and insulting Islam.
On the 30th of June, people took to the streets to overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood's regime
and Bassem was now faced with a new reality
that he should continue with his message of satire regardless of the circumstances.
And so Bassem Youssef stood up and did his show and made fun of the new regime
and their funny hats and that lasted a day.
The lawsuits kept pouring in and the show was even jammed twice during airing.
Eventually, insurmountable pressures on the channel and the team
forced the show to be finally banned.
It seems that satire was too much for some people to handle.
It seems that satire is not an easy task after all.
My name is Bassem Youssef and I'm your host for tonight.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for having me here.
As most of you know that my show was banned a few months ago
so I have no idea why would you listen to an unemployed bum like me
but thank you very much for pretending to listen.
But hey, we're here right? I mean the flights were free, the hotel was included, why the hell not? Right?
So being on the show was such a tough ride.
We had to work under constant threats of legal prosecution, continuous incitement of hate by pro-authority media
and we even had to work while mobs gathered outside the theatre threatening the safety of our crew.
And yet, we had the biggest audience in the Middle East.
We were always accused of something.
The religious media accused us of being against religion, against the country, and against the people.
The ultranationalistic media that followed, accused us of working against the army
against the country, and against the same people.
Both kinds of media played the fear card to scare the people but the people
didn't care and continued to watch until eventually
we were forced to shut down.
Looking back on these days I wonder what made a comedy show
so uncomfortable for authority and its loyal media.
Why would sarcasm rattle them so much and why would people
trust a comedy show more than a serious political show?
It is simply because media has failed to do its job.
We are always told that media is considered as the fourth estate.
It should be independent and it should hold authority accountable.
It should demand transparency and it should breathe down the ruler's neck for the sake of the people.
But when the media stops questioning authority
when it stops representing the people for the sake of the government
it ceases to be independent and it fails to be the voice of the people.
It is not a fourth estate anymore, it is simply called "propaganda.”
Propaganda does not work for the people.
Propaganda is only directed to an audience of one: the emperor.
The people are no longer a priority on its agenda.
Propaganda now, will do its best to keep the public in line, keep the people distracted, and terrified.
No questions of importance should be asked, no real issues that matter to the people should be addressed
and this is when the people realize they can't trust that sorry excuse of a media.
It's when the fourth estate ceases to be a watchdog on authority and degrades itself
to a rabid guarding dog protecting the government from public dissent.
Propaganda tries to create a parallel reality.
A reality where everything is fine, and where the emperor is never wrong
and is even celebrated by the whole universe.
But many people can see through the nonsense and they can see that the emperor is wearing no clothes.
This is where satire flourishes.
Satire is a ridiculous form of dissent that faces a ridiculous form of propaganda.
Propaganda mouthpieces don't like satire because being silly themselves, they hate the competition.
In a society infested by propaganda, satire is the only thing that makes sense.
It's because laughter is a powerful weapon against fear and propaganda feeds on fear.
So they start a witch-hunt to kill the joker.
They tell people that laughter and satire has no place in our lives because it's counter productive.
So now a joke becomes a dangerous plot, and satirists are attacked
and degraded, and called derogatory names like "jesters" or "clowns.”
They think that this is the way to overcome satire.
And they think that they have fulfilled their job towards their master.
"All hail the emperor and down, down with the clown.” That's what you hear the media say.
But what don't know is that it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter how much noise they make or how much fear they instigate.
Everybody sees they have become slaves to the state.
A state that is afraid of jokes, of clowns whom they try to eradicate and if you notice I'm trying my best to rhyme to make you relate.
and if you notice I'm trying my best to rhyme to make you relate.
In the end, people will see. They will see the reality and they will see how
the emperor looks like absolutely naked.
And they will definitely see the propaganda for what it really is and then
everybody will be able to see who are the real clowns.
Thank you very much.
Before I leave the stage, I would like to say that like whatever happened to me
I just had a show that was cancelled.
But I’m here in the presence of people that have really gone through a lot, and they have suffered a lot.
And they actually had real ordeals, and very very very horrible atrocities, and I’m humbled
and I’m very very very honored to be sharing the same platform they are.
They are the real heroes. Thank you very much.