Bassem Youssef

Youssef was a heart surgeon. During Egypt’s 2011 revolution he treated protesters wounded in Tahrir Square and, dismayed by fawning pro-government coverage, set out to change public dialogue with a satire show.⁠[1]

He filmed The B+ Show in five-minute episodes in his laundry room and uploaded them to YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry, drawing more than five million viewers within three months; he then chose hosting a TV series over moving to the United States to practice medicine.⁠[2]

Growing out of the web show, Al Bernameg aired first on the independent station ONTV and later on CBC, drawing more than 40 million viewers; it took on conservatives and liberals alike, and he also wrote a column for the independent daily Al-Shorouk.⁠[3]

In 2013 he was named to the pioneers category of the Time 100; his entry was written by Jon Stewart, who wrote, “Bassem Youssef is my hero.”⁠[4]

After at least four complaints by supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the prosecutor-general issued an arrest warrant for him. In March 2013 he turned himself in for questioning on allegations including insulting Islam and President Morsi and was released on bail of 15,000 Egyptian pounds; he arrived wearing an oversized copy of the graduation hat Morsi had worn when receiving an honorary degree in Pakistan.⁠[5]

In June 2013 American satirist Jon Stewart arrived in Cairo to appear as a guest on El-Bernameg, the show modeled on The Daily Show.⁠[6]

In October 2013 his show returned after a hiatus of several months, satirizing not army chief Abdel-Fattah Sisi directly but the personality cult around him. CBC then said some content insulted national figures and in November suspended the show for violating an agreement and its editorial policies.⁠[7]

His production company then terminated its contract with CBC, which said it would also take legal action against the company. That year the Committee to Protect Journalists gave him its International Press Freedom Award.⁠[3]

After moving to the Saudi-owned MBC Masr, the show was suspended ahead of the presidential election. At a press conference in Cairo on June 2, 2014, he announced the show was going off the air, saying “the current atmosphere isn’t fitting for a comedy show”; the Committee to Protect Journalists voiced concern.⁠[8]

After ending Al Bernameg in 2014 he left Egypt, eventually settling in Los Angeles.⁠[2]

He was among the first prominent hosts to leave Egyptian screens, and several other Egyptian TV hosts later saw their shows halted or left.⁠[9]

Tickling Giants, a documentary directed by Daily Show senior producer Sara Taksler, premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Festival, charting his path from surgeon to Egypt’s most famous television presenter.⁠[10]

Critic David D’Arcy called it exuberant and tragic, showing two channels taking him off the air one after another, and saw it as an essential document of the opening and closing of Egyptian media.⁠[11]

His memoir Revolution for Dummies: Laughing through the Arab Spring was published by Dey Street/HarperCollins on March 21, 2017, recounting the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak and the rise and fall of his show.⁠[12]

After the Gaza war began, he clashed with Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored over Israel’s military campaign, saying that using civilian deaths to pressure Gaza’s population to turn against Hamas is exactly what terrorist organizations do, and telling Morgan he had just compared Israel with ISIS; Morgan rejected the suggestion that his words could be read as such a comparison; he later wrote on X that the correct comparison was between Hamas and ISIS.⁠[13]

The 33-minute segment passed 16 million YouTube views, becoming the show’s most-watched interview.⁠[14]

The two then recorded a second interview of nearly two hours on the Israel–Gaza war and related issues, heated at times but civil overall.⁠[15]

He appeared as the guest of episode #424 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, discussing October 7, the two-state solution, 1948, Egypt, Jon Stewart, the Arab Spring, religion and Joe RoganJoe RoganJoe Rogan is an American podcaster, stand-up comedian and UFC commentator whose long-form interview podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, launched in 2009, is among the most listened-to podcasts in the world; he hosted the NBC reality show Fear Factor, and his show’s content and political statements have repeatedly drawn controversy.Open the full entry.⁠[16]

Calling himself “absolutely no fan of Hamas,” on the podcast he dismissed claims of “rape” and “decapitated babies” in the October 7 attack; evidence of sexual violence has been documented, while the decapitated-babies claim was never confirmed.⁠[17]

After he agreed with a podcast host’s remark that “the media is mostly run by Jewish folks,” Israeli commentator Hen Mazzig called his comments “anti-Jewish”; he called accusations of antisemitism a “fear tactic.”⁠[17]

In February 2025 he made his South African debut with The Middle Beast Tour in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, recounting his journey from heart surgeon to host of the Middle East’s first political satire show.⁠[18]

He then toured the English-language stand-up show The Belly of the Beast, exploring what it means to live inside “a superpower empire.”⁠[19]

Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs named him one of the ten most influential anti-Zionist figures worldwide, accusing him of spreading “misinformation and anti-Israel views”; he responded with irony, saying he had “made it to the top ten again,” and used it to promote his tour.⁠[20]

As of October 2026 his official website lists English-language shows from November 2026 in Toronto and Winnipeg and in 2027 in New Zealand and Australia, and describes Al Bernameg as the first political satire show of its kind in the Middle East.⁠[21]

Personal website: Public link: https://bassemyoussef.xyz/ (opens in a new window)⁠[16]

X: Public account: https://x.com/Byoussef (opens in a new window)⁠[21]