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In the past hours, Egyptian artist Jouri Bakr topped search engines and social media platforms in Egypt, after controversial statements in which she opposed marriage of people with Down syndrome.

In detail, Bakr commented on photos of the wedding of disability rights activist Sama Rami in statements to local media, saying: 'I am against marriage of people with special needs, but the strange thing is that I saw photos of a young woman with special needs celebrating her wedding; is this permissible religiously?'

Jouri Bakr (archive)

She also proceeded to ask: 'Should these people get married?' considering that 'these innocent children do not get married.' She added: 'Since when do people with Down syndrome get married?! I am not bullying them, quite the opposite, how can I bully when my cousin is a person with special needs?!'

Widespread criticism

These words ignited a wave of anger and widespread criticism on social media, and prompted the mother of the young woman Sama Rami to file an urgent complaint to the Acting Professions Syndicate against the artist, accusing her explicitly of bullying and insulting her daughter who suffers from Down syndrome.

The mother also stressed that her daughter did nothing wrong except exercising her natural right to marriage, considering that the artist's statements came only to stir controversy, top the trending list, and gain publicity at the expense of others' feelings.

Backtrack and apology

As the crisis worsened and the intensity of attacks escalated, Bakr was forced to quickly backtrack on her statements in an attempt to contain the situation, as she published an apology via the story feature on her personal Facebook account.

Jouri Bakr's apology

It is worth mentioning that Jouri Bakr is an Egyptian actress, TV host, and model, born in Alexandria.

She started her artistic career in 2020 through participation in notable series such as 'Al-Prince' and 'Leh La' before gaining wide Arab fame and a large fan base through her portrayal of the character 'Widad' in the successful drama series 'Jaafar Al-Omda' in 2023.

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