Egypt’s Media Syndicate, headed by Tarek Seda, issued a decision banning Egyptian actor and prankster, Ramez Galal from appearing on any media outlet broadcasts inside the country until he regularised his legal status.
"We have issued a decision regarding the violations of the “Ramez Majnoun Rasmi” prank show, as well as based on the statement of the Abbasia Mental Hospital in Egypt regarding the program," Seda said in a statement on Wednesday.
The hospital issued a lengthy-statement condemning Galal’s prank show, demanding its suspension for promotes narcissism, bullying, and sadism.
The hospital statement comes amid an ongoing backlash on social media against the show, as many viewers are calling for the suspension of the show, which is something that has happened in previous seasons.
"Galal was making appearances as a presenter on MBC Masr without being a syndicate member or having a license to practice the profession."
He stressed that MBC Masr is obligated to implement the Syndicate's decision, based on the Syndicate Law, which stipulates the commitment to the media code of ethics.
MBC Group spokesman Mazen Hayek commented on the decision, stating that the decision does not apply to the group, as it is a non-Egyptian channels group and broadcasts from the United Arab Emirates in accordance with the applicable laws.
On Tuesday, the MBC Group spokesman had addressed the fate of the prank show, saying: “There is no intention to suspend it; it is screened on 5 channels, which achieves the highest view rates,”.
“The show achieved 120 million views on various platforms, during the first two days of the screening.” he added.
Galal received “a lot of heat” over his new prank show, “Ramez Majnoun Rasmi” since its first episode, which is currently premiering in Ramadan on a several MBC owned channels.
This year, the prank show is based on tricking the guest into thinking that they are guests on Yemeni singer-television host, Arwa show, in Dubai.
The guests agreed into being strapped into a confession chair and are asked many questions with the last being their opinion on a picture of three personalities, the third will be Galal launching the prank, who subjects them into humiliating situations as well as repeat phrases glorifying him, such as "Ramaz Galal is the YouTube star".
The prank show topped the viewership rates since the first days of its premiere, despite calls for its suspension.
Ramez Majnoun Rasmi ranked first in the audience size viewership across different platforms in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, and Qatar.
It also ranked third in the UAE, Algeria, and fourth in Morocco among the programs and series screened in Ramadan.
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