The year started with intense debate and controversy on social media after internet celebrity, Tameem Youness, first posted his music video, “Salmonella”. The song sparked anger and there were many who felt it promotes sexual harassment, violence against women, and encourages the behavior of men who can’t take no for an answer.
While many liked the song and were happy to jam along to it, it was used to create memes and jokes that normalize and trivialize the issue of sexual harassment. This was Tameem’s second song to spark controversy, but “Enty Ay Kalam”was much less problematic than “Salmonella”.
While getting called out for the song, he stated that he wasn’t promoting sexual harassment or violence, but rather showcasing the problem in a comedic way that might help solve it. However, his argument didn’t convince the other side of the debate, and each stuck to their opinion, whether his fans who stand by the song or those who criticized it for what it promotes.
Things went quiet for the next few months, until earlier this week when the case of Ahmed Bassam Zaki went viral and the topic of sexual harassment, rape culture and consent was back on our timelines. Tameem posted a video called “Tea Consent” by Blue Seat Studios that promotes and explains the concept of consent to raise awareness on the matter.
While many of his fans cheered the move and praised him for it, others called him out again for “Salmonella” 6 months after its release, with the argument that he is part of the problem and that his song contributed to this.
Hours ago, Tameem posted a video on Instagram to address the whole situation. He tried once again to explain his point, what he’s going through, what he meant by the song, and announced that he’ll remove it. The video got mixed reactions between fans who are angry that he’s removing the song, and others who think that he should apologize and acknowledge the harm that he caused.