Egyptian actress Mai Kassab responded on Monday 12 October 2026 to criticism of her appearance on the programme «Mirror» with presenter Khaled Farag, stressing that she had not noticed the details of the drawings printed on the T-shirt she wore during the interview and had thought they belonged to a cartoon character.
Mai Kassab responds to T-shirt criticism in video
Kassab issued her clarification in a video posted on her official Facebook page after users on social media circulated images from the episode. Some considered the drawings visible on her clothing inappropriate and inconsistent with the nature of the topics discussed in the interview.
Kassab said she had not intended to comment on the criticism, explaining that she generally preferred not to respond to matters raised on social media. However, she decided to clarify her position after one of her friends advised her to address the public herself.
Kassab says she did not recognise the character printed on the T-shirt
The actress thanked those who had assumed she had good intentions and suggested that she had not seen the drawings before putting on the T-shirt. She confirmed that, had she noticed their details, she would not have chosen to appear in it, adding that she had thought the printed design featured the character «SpongeBob» and did not know the name of the cartoon character actually shown on it.
Kassab said the programme’s presenter would have drawn her attention to the drawings had he noticed them, particularly as their conversation covered humanitarian and religious topics, as well as her wishes and some personal aspects of her life. She stressed that wearing the T-shirt had not been intentional and that what appeared on it was inconsistent with the substance of her comments during the episode.
Kassab concluded her clarification by again thanking those who had given her the benefit of the doubt. Of those who had assumed bad intentions, she said: “May God forgive him.” The controversy began after clips from the interview spread and followers’ comments focused on the drawings on the T-shirt, before the actress published her account of what had happened.
