37 Facts About Bassem Youssef

Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef was born on 22 March 1974 and is an Egyptian-American comedian, television host, and former surgeon.

In 2015, Youssef hosted the 43rd International Emmy Awards in New York City.

In 2013, Bassem Youssef was named on the Time 100 and on Foreign Policy's 100 Leading Global Thinkers.

Bassem Youssef graduated from Cairo University's Faculty of Medicine, majoring in cardiothoracic surgery, in 1998.

Bassem Youssef passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination and has been a member of the Royal College of Surgeons since February 2007.

Bassem Youssef practiced as a cardiothoracic surgeon in Egypt for 13 years, until his move into comedy and political satire.

Bassem Youssef received training in cardiac and lung transplantation in Germany, after which he spent a year and a half in the United States working for a company that produces medical equipment related to cardiothoracic surgery.

In January 2011, Bassem Youssef assisted the wounded in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution.

Bassem Youssef used social media to showcase his talent and his show gave a voice to the millions of Egyptians who were seething with anger from the traditional media's coverage of the Egyptian Revolution.

Bassem Youssef had planned to move to Cleveland to practice medicine but instead signed his show's contract.

The program, which began with a small group working at home with Bassem Youssef, moved from ONTV's smallest studio to Radio Theatre in Cairo's downtown, a theatre redesigned in the likeness of New York's Radio City, making it the first live audience show in Egypt.

In March 2013, Bassem Youssef started writing a weekly column expressing his views for Al-Shorouk; one of Egypt's most prominent and independent daily newspapers.

Bassem Youssef wrote newspaper columns, where he tackled taboo subjects such as atheism and questioning the commonly held view that apostasy from Islam should be punishable by death.

Bassem Youssef later published an apology in Al-Shorouk newspaper for initially publishing an article without citing any references.

Bassem Youssef appeared for the second time on The Daily Show.

Bassem Youssef criticised both the Morsi administration and the people's idolization of the Egyptian Defense Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi.

In February 2014 it was announced that Bassem Youssef had signed a deal with the Middle East Broadcasting Center and that they would start broadcasting Al Bernameg from 7 February on MBC MASR satellite channel.

On one of the shows, Bassem Youssef mocked the Egyptian military's claims to be able to cure hepatitis C and AIDS.

In June 2014, after a six-week break during the 2014 Egyptian presidential election campaign, the Al-Bernameg team held a press conference where Bassem Youssef announced the termination of the show due to pressure on both the show and the airing channel.

Bassem Youssef felt that the political climate in Egypt was too dangerous to continue the show.

The event sparked international media attention as well as a segment on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show in which he declared his support for Bassem Youssef, calling him a "friend" and "brother".

Bassem Youssef had been a consistent supporter of the 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat and was supportive of the media clampdown which included the arrests of several employees of various stations, despite it being carried out by the military with no due process, and celebrated the coup's aftermath in a song and dance number sung to the tune of Old MacDonald.

Bassem Youssef backed the forcible removal of Morsi, declaring himself "very glad" with the putsch.

Bassem Youssef was widely recognized for his bold criticism of the Morsi government, however his approach extended to labeling many of his opponents as being "Muslim Brotherhood", regardless of their actual affiliations.

Bassem Youssef reportedly made no comment other than "Kifaya" in response to the incident.

Bassem Youssef characterized the MB as "the new form of Nazis," a statement he made both on his show and on social media.

In March 2018, the Court of Cassation canceled the ruling against Bassem Youssef requiring him to pay 100 million pounds in compensation in favor of the Egypt Channel Group.

In January 2015, Harvard's Institute of Politics, at the John F Kennedy School of Government, announced that Youssef would be a resident fellow for the spring semester.

In February 2015, it was announced that Bassem Youssef was collaborating with The Daily Show producer Sara Taksler to launch a crowdfunding campaign for her documentary about his experience, Tickling Giants.

In November 2015, Bassem Youssef hosted the 43rd International Emmy Awards in New York City.

Tickling Giants, a documentary film about Bassem Youssef directed by Sara Taksler, premiered on 14 April 2016, at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In October 2023, Bassem Youssef signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter, urging President Joe Biden to push for a ceasefire and an end to the Gaza war.

Bassem Youssef drew comparisons with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and criticized the Israeli military's tactics in the Gaza Strip, questioning how the Western world would perceive Israel's response to the attack if it was being conducted by Russian troops.

On 19 April 2024, it was announced that Bassem Youssef would join Mehdi Hasan's new media company, Zeteo, as co-host for their new podcast 'We're Not Kidding'.

In 2013, Bassem Youssef was named one of the "100 most influential people in the world" by Time magazine and one of Foreign Policy magazine's 100 Leading Global Thinkers.

In 2010, Bassem Youssef married Hala Diab, with whom he has a daughter and a son.

Bassem Youssef has refused to return to Egypt while it is under the rule of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.