Maryam El Haraky, a prominent social media content creator known for her styling videos, VLOGs, and birthday extravaganzas, recently hosted a farah-sha3by-themed birthday party that has taken the internet by storm. As a member of the Egyptian-like Hype House, a collective of influencers who frequently share their adventures and time together online, Maryam's latest celebration has sparked a web of controversies, including allegations of classism, physical altercations, and the subsequent backlash that followed.
Birthday Extravaganzas
Maryam's infamous birthday bashes began in 2023 when she had her influencer friends dress in black attire for a professional photoshoot. She stood out in a pink dress with a matching cake, and the powerful storytelling and videos she and her friends posted made the event go viral. This year, she opted for a farah-sha3by-themed birthday party under the slogan Farhet Maryam El Haraky.
In a four-part VLOG series, Maryam documented her journey of booking the venue, sending out invitations, getting her hair and makeup done, and thrifting a wedding dress from El Wekala. Her influencer friends posted promotional teasers of their outfits, engaging their followers and building anticipation for the bash.
Accusations of Classism
The birthday party quickly attracted backlash, with many people finding Maryam's use of the terms bee2a, sarsagy, and sha3by as a dress code degrading to some citizens. Despite the invitees dressing up as movie characters such as Donia Samir Ghanem in El Farah, Mohamed Ramadan's El Almany, or El Harifa's Sheshtawy, Maryam's choice of words sparked outrage.
In her VLOGs, she referred to the wedding dress as unflattering and far from chic; comments that struck a nerve, as the dress in question has been worn by many brides for their weddings. Additionally, some invitees referred to their outfits as the cheapest, ugliest, and most disgusting pieces of clothing they could find, further fueling the controversy.
Physical Altercation
As the days went by, rumours of a physical fight at the party began circulating. While social media was flooded with content celebrating the event, allegations emerged that one of the invitees had been physically assaulted. Influencer Hassan Piso later revealed that he was attacked by a couple of invitees and their plus-ones, who ambushed him and injured his triceps with a pocket knife brought in as a prop.
Videos of the incident showed that Piso could have had his throat slit if he hadn't blocked the knife with his arm. Following Piso's viral video showcasing his injuries, Maryam removed all content related to the birthday, leading to further backlash for not apologising and owning up to it.
The Aftermath
In the wake of the incident, many of the invitees spoke out, with some claiming to have saved Piso's life and others attacking Maryam for not providing proper security. Piso accused content creator Safwat of being seen with the attackers before the incident and criticised Maryam for blaming him for ruining her birthday and not cooperating to identify his assailant.
Maryam's "apology" video, in which she claimed ignorance about the weapons, was contradicted by a voice memo allegedly asking the attacker to bring them. Piso credited Seif Venom, Omar Spooky, and Hussein Sehs as the only friends who stood by him during the ordeal. The incident has been reported to the authorities, and the police are now investigating to bring justice for Piso.
Pattern of Controversy
This is not the first time Maryam has found herself in hot water. Last year, she faced backlash for condescendingly calling out a local brand for their poor English in a collaboration request. The controversy led her to create a series of videos differentiating between influencers and content creators, claiming that social media personnel have power and authority.
After facing harsh criticism, she removed the videos and released an apology, stating that she was misunderstood. Despite losing followers and receiving hate, her cancellation eventually faded. However, this latest incident may have more severe consequences, as the pattern of controversy, exploitation of hype, and subsequent apologies continue to damage her reputation.
