Dubai: Jennifer Lopez, after her sold out performance in the North Coast of Egypt last week, is the latest target of lawsuits by Egyptian lawyer and serial ‘celebrity suer’ Samir Sabry.
The performance on Friday, August 9 drew an attendance of over 2,000 people, including Egyptian celebrities, artists and government ministers, according to a CNN Arabic report on Saturday.
Lopez’s “It’s my Party” tour was on its last leg after performing in the Americas, followed by Tel Aviv, Moscow, Antalya and Egypt. The tour was in celebration of the star turning 50. She performed some of her biggest hits including “Jenny from the Block”, “I'm Real” and “If You Had My Love”.
Sabry, who is known for his 'morality crusades', is demanding that the star be banned from entering Egypt again.
Sabry spoke to Egyptian media on Sunday saying that “these transparent and nude clothes, and the date of the concert is not appropriate at all.” Sabry explained that the date of the concert came in conjunction with the last ten days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah, saying, "It is not appropriate that people are staying standing on Mount Arafat praying, while others are attending a concert by an artist.”
He claimed that the singer appeared “naked on stage”, which according to him “violates Egyptian norms and traditions.”
The star was however not “naked” on stage. Her most noteworthy looks from the concert in Egypt included a rhinestone-studded leotard that extended up one arm and down one leg, and a green leotard with cut outs.
Fans speak
Gulf News spoke to a fan who attended the concert in Al Alamein.
“I don’t understand why she is being sued. Egypt asks her to come, and then allows people to attack what she is wearing? Do you want her to come perform in clothes that you approve of? Is that even logical?” said Ahmed a Cairo resident, who travelled to the North Coast to see the performance.
“Some people need to calm down,” said Riham. “It was an amazing concert. I would love for more artists to come to Egypt. They are less likely to come, if they see their colleagues being sued.”
"This is why we can't have nice things," one JLo fan, Engy told Gulf News.
"There are bigger things to worry about in Egypt, than Jennifer Lopez's outfits. This lawyer needs to use his time more wisely," said Hisham to Gulf News.
As reported by the New York Times, Sabry, a 68-year-old lawyer is one of the most prolific litigators in Egypt - where the law allows one citizen to press charges against another for crimes like immorality and insulting the nation.
Sabry has previously sued Egyptian actress Rania Youssef for wearing a transparent dress on an Egyptian red carpet. He also filed a case against the puppeteer of Abla Fahita on several different occasions, some which were thrown out by the judge.
In November, 2018 Sabry managed to get Sherine, a famous Egyptian singer, banned from performing in Egypt after she had made a joke about the quality of the famously dirty water in the Nile.
In 2015, he stopped a belly dancer named Sama Al Masry from running for parliament because of her profession, which he deemed unsuitable.
The Jennifer Lopez concert was set up and arranged by an Egyptian development company known as Orascom. It was the star’s first ever concert in Egypt.
