via Emarat Alyoum
It’s not news that Moroccan singer-songwriter Saad Lamjarred is labelled as a sexual predator. Dating back to 2010, the artist faced multiple allegations of rape and violence against women in the States and France. It has been long since we’ve seen Lamjarred’s name in the headlines following the situation’s dying down. But following the announcement that he is set to perform in Sharm El Sheikh next Thursday, he is again under blast alongside the organisers and accommodators of his event.
via Morocco World News
Saad Lamjarred in Sharm El Sheikh
Recently, it was found out that Saad Lamjarred was invited to perform a concert in a hotel in Sharm El Sheikh before New Year. The hotel's name has not yet been declared publicly not to cause any problems with him coming.
The artist attempted to have a concert last 2020, also in Sharm El Sheikh, but it was cancelled due to the public criticising the matter and refusing for it to proceed. This makes sense considering his concert was nearby the headlining of his most recent allegations of rape in Paris.
But despite years passing, we are wondering: Is the same thing going to happen this year, too – that is, the cancellation of his event due to backlash that he is an alleged rapist and beater of women? We sure hope so, and social media activists and civilians aren’t letting go of this event until it’s cancelled.
What Has the Public Reaction Been?
via Instagram
With so many charges of rape and assault inflicted on him, any matter promoting Saad Lamjarred is not trivial. For this reason, activists and many on social media have created the hashtag “مش_عايزين_سعد_لمجرد_في_مصر”, translated to “we don’t want Saad Lamjarred in Egypt”. This hashtag has blown up across all platforms with the help of Malak Boghdady, WhatWomenWant, and the renowned SpeakUp account.
While we are unsure if this campaign will work to hold the artist accountable and prevent him from performing in Egypt, we can hope only hope that it has a similar effect to the campaign and publish backlash of 2020 that led to the cancellation of the concert.
