Fox News, the next time you want to criticize Ramy Youssef, how about actually giving the comedian a call?
“I’ve been on the network a few times without my consent,” he tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I’d love to be asked for comment, because I would! Any of the ways they’ve covered me, they never actually even call you. I wouldn’t be one of those guys that wouldn’t provide a comment. Oh, I’d provide a comment! They say, ‘we reached out to his representatives, and he did not have any comment to provide.’ No, no, I have a comment to provide!”
Youssef was recently featured on Fox News because of a segment he did on “Sesame Street” where he taught Elmo the Arabic words “habibi” (“my love” or “my close friend”) and “as-salamu alaykum” (“peace be upon you”).
“The comments were on a level that I actually didn’t anticipate,” Youssef says. “Just immediately seeing people going, ‘there are millions of people who need to be deported tomorrow,’ and ‘the people must leave.’ And then Fox News just making claims that are wholesale not true, that ‘Sesame Street’ doesn’t do this for any other language.’ So it is this thing where you feel this ramp-up of anti-Muslim sentiment, of Islamophobia.”
Youssef says “Sesame Street” has been supportive in the face of this ridiculous blowback. “It’s such a loving program, and yeah, we know that there are people who are going to act this way,” he says. “Right now they’re celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month and that got a lot of hateful comments too. ‘Sesame Street’ knows what their job is, to spread love and the goal has to be that the next generation of kids doesn’t have this limited of a scope.”
Youssef jokes about a previous time Fox News invoked his name to get a rise out of its audience. When New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was campaigning, Youssef says he was included in the channel’s list of “Mamdani’s ‘ultra liberal wealthy donors.'” Says Youssef: “Let me tell you, the people I was next to were very wealthy. I was not anywhere near the caliber of the other faces they put up there. And what was hard was some of the comments online were exactly that: ‘Ramy is not wealthy!’ Thank you.”
In his latest HBO Max special, “Ramy Youssef: In Love,” the comedian points out some of the hypocrisy by those right-wing outlets, which will spread Islamophobia and anti-Muslim talking points — yet ignore the questions surrounding headlines like Qatar gifting a $400 million Air Force One plane to Trump, or the fact that a trio of Middle Eastern funds will own 38.5% of a combined Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery when that merger closes.
“These class divides are exactly that, they’re about money and power,” he says. “I think any of the divisiveness around culture and religion is just a distraction. You know, most people have so much in common. Most faiths, most cultures, all are passionate about having a strong family and living life to its fullest. That’s the thing that’s always been around my work. The real divide is just there are people who love that we’re fighting over this stuff.”
Besides Elmogate, Youssef spoke to the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast about some of the memorable moments from “Ramy Youssef: In Love,” including how his dog is doing. He also explained the origins of sharing his “wife thoughts,” his time with Pope Francis, how his discussion of personal finances on stage gets him in trouble with his father, and more. He also answers our 10 Questions quiz, and talks about his first time in Variety. Listen below!
For this taping of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Youssef’s wife joined him in studio (but off mic) — so the opportunity was there to get her reaction to the section of “Ramy Youssef: In Love” dubbed “wife thoughts.” In that bit, Youssef reveals some of the embarrassing things he feels comfortable saying and doing in front of his wife, but not the rest of the world. “I kind of braved out to try a few on stage, which was really fun,” he says. “I think I did it once at a show, and someone shouted, ‘we want more wife thoughts!’ And I said, OK, maybe I should put this in the special. Maybe I should do more of them, which was really fun to find.
In the special, Youssef also shares how much he spent during his wedding in Egypt to light up the pyramids at night — $10,000. Youssef says his dad was not happy after hearing that reveal during a Youssef comedy show at New York’s Beacon Theater.
“I had what I thought was my best hour that I had done in person,” he says. “So, I’m sitting there, and I’m basking in this. My dad comes backstage and pulls me aside, and I feel like we’re about to have this moment. But he goes, ‘you paid $10,000??’ Mind you, the wedding at this point was two years ago. I’m trying to just enjoy the moment that’s going on. But he goes, ‘they light them up anyway! What’s wrong with you? How did that happen?'”
And then there’s the story of Youssef’s dog, who even appears in the special’s key art. Have no fear, the dog is good — and even with Youssef on a massive HBO billboard on Sunset. “Fame definitely has shifted,” Youssef jokes. “He had a little red carpet moment. He was getting so many treats and getting fed so much, and people were really adoring him. The next day, he didn’t want to eat any of the food that we had at the house.”
As for Youssef’s first time in Variety, it was as a part of the cast of Nick at Nite’s sitcom “See Dad Run,” starring Scott Baio. Youssef played Baio’s character’s pal Kevin; the show ran for nearly 50 episodes starting in 2012.
“This was the job that is actually the craziest thing that’s ever happened in my life,” Youssef says. “I was 20 and living at my parents’ house in New Jersey, and I got cast as a series regular in a show that shoots in L.A. The more I know about the industry, te more I know how that doesn’t happen! So that moved me to L.A., where I lived for ten years, and that’s where I really figured out standup and how to do a show.”
Here’s a bit of that review, which ran in Daily Variety on October 12, 2012 (you can also read it here):
10 QUESTIONS WITH RAMY YOUSSEF:
1. Childhood nickname: “Ramy Salami.”
2. Something you loved as a kid but can’t believe you were into it now: “When I was a kid, I really liked to eat shrimp. And now I’m so allergic, it will send me the hospital.”
3. Go-to Karaoke or sing-in-the-shower song: “I’ll rap some Eminem, ‘The Real Slim Shady,’ that kind of thing. I know so many of those words!”
4. Give me an alternate title for your show: “’I Love My Dog.’ It was going to be a little nod to the Cat Stevens track, which was his first real big hit.”
5. What’s your secret talent?: “I love playing music, guitar, I love singing. But it’s not something I’ve done so publicly.”
6. Favorite ice cream flavor: Vanilla, or butter pecan.
7. The one item you couldn’t live without: “A notebook that fits in my jacket pocket.”
8. What TV show in all of history do you wish you were a cast member of?: “’The Sopranos.’ Just the New Jersey of it. Those locations were near where I grew up. The Bada Bing strip club, I would see that on the way to karate.”
9. Fictional character you most admire: “Jason Bourne.”
10. Your favorite piece of advice: “Drinking as much water as possible.”
Also on this episode (story to come): “Elsbeth” star Carrie Preston.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
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