Did he intentionally belittle Mohamed Ramadan? The director of "Asad" explains

A scene from the film "Asad"

Did he intentionally belittle Mohamed Ramadan? The director of "Asad" explains

A major controversy has been sparked by Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, director of the film "Asad," starring Mohamed Ramadan, currently showing in Egyptian and Arab cinemas. Social media users believe Diab is belittling Ramadan in his statements.

This controversy arose a few days ago when the filmmakers appeared as guests on Egyptian media personality Amr Adib's program "Al-Hekaya," which airs on MBC Egypt. Diab spoke about his collaboration with Mohamed Ramadan, but things didn't go as planned when his remarks were widely shared on social media.

Diab said that the audience was eagerly anticipating the film's release to see the director coming from the Marvel universe, and who he would be collaborating with—the artist Mohamed Ramadan, who was looking at Diab in an unusual way during the interview. 

The public circulated these statements, particularly those concerning the artist Mohamed Ramadan, and considered Diab's remarks to be belittling him.

However, director Mohamed Diab responded during his appearance with Egyptian content creator Eyad El-Mogy on his YouTube program "Excellent Saturday." 

The director emphasized that he did not intend to belittle Mohamed Ramadan in his comments, requesting an opportunity to clarify his words. He explained that by mentioning the artistic collaboration with Mohamed Ramadan, he meant that the audience would see what this unusual combination could offer.

Mohamed Diab directs films, some of which are non-commercial, while Ramadan directs commercial films. Diab pointed out that Mohamed Ramadan's talent has the potential to make him an international artist, commenting, "If Mohamed spoke English... then Mohamed would be working in Hollywood." Diab acknowledged that his remarks on the program had been edited out, and that there were ongoing social media battles waged by his rivals.