CAIRO, June 3 (UPI) -- Political satirist Bassem Yousseff, known as the Egyptian Jon Stewart, announced Monday that his show will not return due to "pressures outside of his control."
The cancellation of El Bernameg came soon after Abdel Fatah al-Sisi was declared the victor of the presidential election Tuesday with 96.1 percent of the vote. Yousseff's most recent tape mocks the presidential election, but it won't make the air. He showed his appreciation for the efforts of Saudi-owned MBC Masr, a satellite channel that broadcast the show, to keep it on-air, but said it was not enough. "They [MBC] have tried as much they could, but unfortunately the circumstances and the pressures were bigger than any of us," said Yousseff. "The Program in its current format will not be able to continue, neither on MBC nor any other Egyptian or Arabic channel."
Jon Stewart tipped his hat to Youssef on his show Monday -- the clip can be seen here.
"The point is Bassem Youssef and his team did a tremendous show under harrowing conditions. And while they're not on the air for now, their work will continue to inspire us all here at this show. Congratulations to the them on a job very well done," said Stewart.
Yousseff said the decision to cancel the show was a message of strength and "not a message of fear."
