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FILE – Egyptian pop star Amr Diab performs at the newly built Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on June 18, 2021. (AP Photo / Amr Nabil)
CAIRO (AP) – An advertisement by French automaker Citroën sparked controversy in Egypt after activists said it promotes sexual harassment in a country where the practice is rampant.
The ad for Citroën’s Egyptian subsidiary, released last month, shows popular Egyptian singer and actor Amr Diab driving the latest version of a C4, the company’s SUV, before coming to an abrupt stop in front of a woman crossing the street. .
Diab looks at the woman and takes a photo of her with a camera attached to the vehicle’s rear view mirror. The singer is seen smiling as the image of the woman appears on his phone. Then there’s a scene of the two of them together, like they’re on a date.
Although the ad was apparently intended to promote the car camera, it drew criticism from the automaker and the 60-year-old singer, considered a role model for many across the Arab world.
Under pressure from the reaction on social media, the Citroën subsidiary in the country offered an apology and removed the 100-second commercial.
“We deeply regret and understand the negative interpretation of part of this recording. With our business partner in Egypt, we made the decision to withdraw this commercial from all Citroën channels and offer our sincerest apologies to all offended communities, ”he said in a statement.
There was no comment from Diab, who was still showing the video on his social media accounts with tens of millions of followers.
Sexual harassment – from whistling to occasional pinching or groping – is rampant in Egypt, a conservative Muslim country of more than 100 million people.
An Egyptian feminist initiative called Speak Up called the ad “disgusting” and said it promoted “casually photographing women on the street without their consent, just because they like them.”