Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef’s walk-on song is Billy Joel’s harrowing pop-rock anthem “Pressure.” The last 24 seconds of that song, to be precise. I know this because I'm watching him shout instructions over thousands of empty seats to the venue’s technician, trying to perfect the timing of his entrance. But a frustrating Spotify setting keeps crossfading the outro into the next track, and it’s ruining Youssef's dramatic entrance.
Youssef paces from one end of the stage to another. He's wearing a blue tracksuit and matching Hokas. We’re at the Eventim Apollo theater in Hammersmith, London’s artsy riverside neighborhood. It’s a Saturday afternoon in early April, about five hours before the opening night of a run of European shows billed as his “Middle Beast Tour.”
I fear I have caught him on an off day. Tensions are running high, both inside the theater—as he deals with timing, lightning adjustments, the red, white and blue color scheme the theater's provided him as his backdrop (“Three colors that conquered the whole world,” he jokes)—as well as in the world outside these walls.
In the early 2010s, Youssef was a heart surgeon living in Egypt; during the 25 January revolution, he tended to the wounded in Cairo's Tahrir Square. A few months later, he began posting YouTube videos poking fun at the country’s state-run media and political leadership. Those videos landed him a TV deal, and Youssef became the host of a satirical news program called Al-Bernameg (which translates literally to The Show.)
Comedic political satire at that level was a first in the Middle East. Al-Bernameg became the most popular news show in Egypt during the Arab Spring, and Youssef drew comparisons to Jon Stewart; the show also attracted controversy, criticism, public smear campaigns and lawsuits. A warrant was issued for Youssef's arrest at one point, and the satellite signal of MBC—the network that aired Al-Bernameg after it was pulled by the private Egyptian broadcaster CBC—was jammed by hackers.
In April of 2014, the satellite channel MBC pulled Al-Bernameg from the air during its third season, citing concerns about its potential influence on the upcoming Egyptian presidential election. Two months later, citing overwhelming pressures on his team and MBC, Youssef announced he was ending the show. He fled Egypt for Los Angeles, worried he'd be arrested if he didn't.
Some of this is addressed in the show he's about to perform here in London. “It’s my origin story,” he says. He also talks about everything that's happened since he left Egypt—about receiving a welcome letter from then-president Trump upon becoming a US citizen, living the quote-unquote American Dream (securing a mortgage and getting enslaved by your credit card), doing comedy in English—which he jokingly calls “the language of the infidels”—and the challenge of figuring out a name for his son, who'll grow up in America. (He went with Adam, figuring the news headline "Adam the Terrorist” would be ethnically ambiguous.)
He insists the new show isn't political, but over the last months, has emerged—whether he liked it or not—as a pundit, a spokesperson even, for his pro-Palestine commentary. Following a viral appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored last October that racked up 22 million views, Youssef has become one of the most vocal entertainers online and in the media about Israel’s occupation of Palestine. He’s virtually everywhere, from Christiane Amanpour to Mehdi Hasan and Chris Cuomo.
So, why the song? Well, you get the picture. “It’s the theme of my life,” he tells me, his piercing icy blue eyes focused for a second. “I can’t escape it.”
From the back of a black, tinted-window minivan en route to soundcheck, and later in his dressing room upstairs, Youssef discusses his dual-language performances, shares his upcoming projects, and – between bites of M&Ms – reflects on using comedy to navigate the darkest of times.
GQ: This year marks 10 years since the final broadcast of Al-Bernameg aired and you had to leave Egypt for LA. Looking back at these 10 years in America, what was the toughest part of the transition?
Bassem Youssef: You leave your country, you’re the number one show there and then you go to another country and you're no one. You lose everything, all the fame and exposure, and you start from the beginning in a country where nobody knows you and you have to dig yourself up again and you don't know if you're going to make it or not. It was a very difficult time in my life. I had to go through a lot. Financially, emotionally, psychologically. But Hamdillah, it all worked out.
Do you think you’ll ever be able to go back to Egypt?
It’s not a question of if I can go back. I’m focused to solidify my career in the United States and have a bigger impact. Whether I go back or not, I don't really think about that right now.
I had the unique experience of watching you perform a comedy set in Jordan back in 2022. The majority of the audience was bilingual, so while the performance was mostly in English there were a few zingers in Arabic. Now you’re doing dual-language comedy shows, each with different content and themes. How did you settle on that approach?
The English show started a few years ago. It's all about my personal story, my origin story. The Arabic show came later—I only started a year and a half ago. It was more difficult for me to do the Arabic because humor is so different when you speak to an audience with so many different dialects and backgrounds—Jordanians, Lebanese Syrians, Egyptians—it’s so different. English somehow is a unifying language. I sometimes actually get more nervous doing the Arabic show than English.
I’m surprised though, because your show Al-Bernameg was in Arabic, so your background as a public speaker is in Arabic.
That’s different. Al-Bernameg was a current events political show and my audience was Egyptians. Arabs elsewhere watched it, but I didn't have to make the effort to make my show be understood by all other Arab countries or Arab dialects. People from outside Egypt embraced that experience, but standup comedy shows are quite different.
Do you feel like the nature of the execution differs in English and Arabic?
Absolutely. Each language has its own rhythm, style, timing. I can't really explain it.
Are you funnier in one more than the other?
I have my moments in both, but Arabic comes to me faster.
Why do you think your two guest appearances on Piers Morgan Uncensored following October 7th went so viral?
Because there's a total disconnect between the people, the media and political leaders. When people listen to someone who resonates with what they think, when we go through a media that is completely biased against them, of course it resonates with them. It was a great opportunity to tell the other side of the story. People felt relieved, vindicated, that they were being heard.
You’ve talked elsewhere about the risk you face of alienating yourself — by appealing to a Western audience you’re letting your fellow Arabs down, but appealing mostly to Arabs runs the risk of the West ‘canceling’ or discrediting you and losing your platform here. It feels like a tightrope. How are you navigating that balance?
I’ve said it's a lose-lose situation because no matter what I do, I won’t be accepted by anyone. Because it seems that the extremists are pushing the narrative on both sides. But I’ve said this many times. I'm not speaking to the Arab audience, I’m speaking to the Western audience, because the Arab audience just talks to itself. We speak to each other, we have absolutely no effect on those around us. So I needed to break that barrier, talk to the Western audience. When doing that, you need to understand the narrative, words, the definitions, because that makes a huge difference.
You can’t be as emotional as the internet. There is no mercy on the internet. It’s time to become strategic and speak about this issue in a much more intelligent way because this is what is lacking. Look at all the emotions and anger—where has that actually done? Nothing. It’s about being smart at the end of the day.
Using comedy, dark humor and satire in tough times is no easy endeavor, though. What is the heart of your approach?
Information and knowledge. I know people are still hooked on the first interview with Piers Morgan, but if you follow all of my interviews since then, it's hard-hitting-knowledge, information, and facts. Satire and dark comedy can work for a little bit, but can’t work forever. At the end of the day you need to work your way using facts because there's a lot of misinformation.
How is your wife’s family doing?
Her family is still in Rafah, and they’re trying to get out.
One thing I’ve heard you speak about is the problem of being iconized. When you expressed certain political views in Egypt, people expected you to rise up as some figurehead, but you made it clear that your role is a commentator, a comedian. Do you feel this playing out once again, given that you’re among the most outspoken entertainers about what’s happening in Gaza?
Even worse. I can’t be responsible for a 75-year-old conflict. I understand people are desperate to hear anybody speak up, but at a certain point, you can’t really do everything. When I post something else on my social media, people are like ‘You’ve forgotten about Gaza’ or ‘You didn’t speak that urgently.’ It's unfair to [hold me] responsible for that. I try to do what I can. Most people appreciate it. It’s just people on the internet—the trolls. The internet gives you an unfair representation of what actual people are like in real life. People are very nice and they even humble me with their appreciation, but it’s all about the internet.
Do you feel like you’re always an outsider looking in? Outside of the Middle East, looking in that region. An outsider in America, looking in… Or does this give you such a strong sense of perspective from all angles?
It’s a duality of both. I spent 14 years of my life in Egypt, you cannot ignore that and that gives you a little bit of perspective. But also, I consider myself as an American, because I’m now an American citizen, I pay taxes in America, whatever happens in American politics affects me.
There is freedom of expression in America—nobody is going to come and put you in jail—but there are also red lines that can actually have your career affected. We saw people losing jobs and it's not by the government, it's by private entities, like for example, movie [sets] or studios. These are run by individuals, these individuals have their own biases.
It seems like the tide is shifting in terms of more awareness regarding stereotyping, Islamaphobia, and misrepresentation of Arabs. It's especially fresh in my mind given how Ramy Youssef’s SNL monologue was received earlier this year—with viewers saying he made history. Do you agree that the tide is turning? And, I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the SNL show if you watched it. I know you’ve worked with Ramy and acted in both Hulu’s Ramy and Netflix’s Mo.
I saw bits and pieces of [Ramy’s SNL monologue]. It’s great to have that kind of exposure and the people reacting to it. It’s a testimony of how the political elite and the media elite are disconnected from the people. Ramy and Mo Amer did amazing work for Arabs in America and it was rewarded. They're very talented and very good people at heart. I did a one day shoot for each show—basically a cameo.
You recently bought the rights for a book that you want to turn into a movie. Can you tell me more?
I bought the rights about a year ago to a book called The Muslim and the Jew by a German author. It's a nonfiction book. And after October 7, I bought the lifetime rights because I believe it’s a story to be told. It's about a group of Arabs led by an Egyptian doctor called Dr. Mohammad Helmy. This group lived in Berlin under Nazi Germany and they helped form a secret network to save over 300 Jews from the Holocaust.
How would you be involved?
As a producer and hopefully be part of the writing. Maybe, if I’m good enough, I’ll be one of the actors but I'm more concerned about this movie being made than being in it.
There have been other projects in the works, too. You shot a four-episode arc on Amazon’s Upload and made a guest appearance on Paramount’s Lioness. How did these projects come about?
Greg Daniels met me a couple of times and he called me for the role in Upload. He’s the guy who produced The Office, Space Force and other successful shows. Then I auditioned for the part in Lioness and it worked. Acting is not a big part of my life but I'm happy to be a part of it. Because at the end of the day, when you go on stage, you do a little bit of acting.
I don’t think many people know that you follow a plant-based diet, and that journey started over 10 years ago. What prompted you to do this?
I’m not very constant when I’m traveling, and I’m at my best when I’m 100% strict. Recently, I’ve been cheating a lot—a little bit of cheese, a little bit of fish—and I wasn’t feeling good. So a few days ago, I said ‘OK I’m going to go back to my plant-based diet.’ Now I feel guilty about the couple of M&Ms you saw me eat. But I do it for health and I always tell people: do what you can, you don't have to be 100%.
You’re also a big fitness guy. Exercising, rollerblading, windsurfing. You posted on Instagram about doing your first pull-up at 49 years old. And you recently had knee surgery. How are you feeling?
I had three knee surgeries—basketball, football, football. It’s meniscus, it’s fine. Also, I’m 50. My body is failing. I’m going to die soon.
Travelling also takes its toll on the body. How do you cope? Do you have a routine?
I wish I could, but I'm too lazy. It's a mental thing to get up sometimes when you're too stressed. I need to be better at this. It’s something I need to work on and I'm not very happy with myself. I'm best when I work out every day. But when I'm alone, when I'm traveling, I don't want to go through the motions. Again, I only have myself to blame. I'm not a good role model.
Don’t you think you're being hard on yourself?
I'm not doing this to show up for anybody. I do this for myself. I need to show myself that I can be better and it's better for me, but I'm not good.
This goes back to the question of how you handle the pressure. There’s so much that you do aside from your comedy, like all the media appearances. How do you prepare yourself for these?
I need to wake up everyday in the morning and remind myself not to kill myself. So maybe it's just a reminder not to commit suicide on a daily basis. [Looks at his aide Ahmed Abbas]. This is what happens to the people that accompany me on my trips: see how depressed he is. This is my effect on the people around me and the horrible negative energy around me. [Laughs]
The stress comes from a lot of insecurity. I don't lose my temper because I'm a diva, I lose my temper because I have this fear that anything that can go wrong can spoil my whole career. I have this phobia because I don’t feel that I’m grounded. I don't have a strong foundation, because I became famous very fast. So you always feel that you're not deserving of that. I know, it’s the imposter syndrome. Sometimes it gets to me and then I remind myself to snap out of it. I need to remind myself not to get into that rabbit hole of stress.
From the viewers point, though, it’s as if you’ve lived several lives—a heart surgeon, television host, youtuber, standup comedian —don’t you think there are lessons to be taken from each stage of that?
At the end of the day, people only remember the last thing you did. So it doesn't matter what you did in the past. It’s that night, that joke, that second. When you get too much exposure, you realize the world is very unforgiving. Unforgiving for mistakes and for slip ups. This is the problem. The more exposure you have, the more people follow you, the more scrutiny you get and the more people will judge you for everything. The pressure keeps mounting. This is why a lot of people who are celebrities or comedians or actors live a life of stress. Some of them are very depressed, some even have suicidal thoughts. It’s not a normal way to live life.
Yet so many people resonate with your show and your jokes. And, as you say, this isn’t a political tour, this is just the story of your life.
I'll give you an example of how you can flip on you. Who's your best football player? Messi? Ronaldo? He misses a penalty, you're gonna curse his mother. This is the flip. This is the price of human emotions. Human emotions can propel you so high and can bring you so low. People give you so much emotion and that emotion is valuable. That is why the most famous, richest people in the world are football players, people in the media and celebrities, because you’re meddling with people's emotions. Your currency is people's love and that love can turn into hate instantly. It's like crypto: high risk, high return.
How are you feeling about doing this tour, then?
I know that I've complained a lot of the exposure, but actually, on the flipside, to have your job be making people laugh, earn money from it, fill theaters and have people laugh with you, it's the best job in the world. So my goal is to make them happy, make them laugh, and not disappoint them. That’s where the stress comes in.
Other than this tour, what’s next for you?
There are a lot of projects that I cannot speak about now but hopefully to have my own platform. Trying to finance the movie. There's a couple of projects in Arabic for acting that I've been talking about. There is hopefully a big show that we should announce soon, part of a popular show in the Arab world. It's very volatile. I can talk about it now and then but it might not happen.