The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler - Bassem Youssef - Hero to Villain

Episode Date: April 19, 2021

My HoneyDew this week is Egyptian comedian, writer, producer, surgeon, and television host, Bassem Youssef! Bassem hosted El-Bernameg (The Show), a satirical news program, from 2011 to 2014. The press has compared Bassem with Jon Stewart. Bassem Highlights Lowlights about going from national hero to national villain and fleeing Egypt to save his life! SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube and watch full episodes of The Dew every toozdee! https://www.youtube.com/rsickler SUBSCRIBE to my Patreon, The HoneyDew with Y’all, where I Highlight the Lowlights with Y’all! What’s your story? https://www.patreon.com/TheHoneyDew SPONSORS: RITUAL Get key nutrients-without the B.S. Ritual is offering my listeners 10% off during your first 3 months. Visit RITUAL.COM/HONEYDEW to start your ritual today. KEEPS If you’re ready to take action and prevent hair loss, go to KEEPS.COM/HONEYDEW to receive your first month of treatment for free. That’s KEEPS.COM/HONEYDEW to get your first month free. GREEN CHEF Go to GREENCHEF.COM/90HONEYDEW and use code 90HONEYDEW to get $90 off including free shipping! The #1 meal kit for eating well.

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19-plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem? Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. This episode of The Honeydew is brought to you by Ritual, Green Chef, and Keeps. More on that later. Let's get into the do. The Honeydew y'all we're over here doing it in the night pan studios i am ryan sickler ryan sickler.com ryan sickler on all social media every episode i'm going to tell you how much i appreciate you guys. This community continues to grow. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel.

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I think for the year, if you sign up for a year, it's like $54 and you get like over a month of free episodes. So if you're in, do that. You'll save on some money. All right. Look, you guys know I record here at the Santa Monica Music Center. I'm really proud of a program we're doing right now. It's a nonprofit for some at-risk youth. We're working with the Santa Monica Police Department. It's called Outreach Through the Arts. We're bringing kids in the studio here to teach them about podcasting,

editing, cameras, in front of the mic, behind the know, doing what Ash does, doing what I do, giving them a curriculum and a course so they can go out and get these jobs where they don't have to work at Little Caesars for minimum wage. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying college may not be for everybody. So we're doing a give back program. I'll be telling you more about that as we keep going, but they're having a hell of a time right now. And I'm just really proud of it. so it's something i'm going to promote and get these kids some exposure that's the the biz y'all uh you know what we do here we highlight the low lights these are the stories behind the storytellers i'm very excited to have this guest here today uh honeydew getting

big time names right now first time here on on the do. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Basim Youssef. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you. I feel the love. I feel the love. Listen, I said before, I've been mesmerized by your eyes over here, bro. I get eye compliments, but man, you're just, I'm as straight as they come.

But man, you're melting me, bro. You're melting me. How are you today? I'm good. I'm good. Thank you. I'm so glad to have you here. Before we dive into any of this, please plug, promote everything and anything you'd like.

Okay. Right now? Yeah, right now. Oh, okay. I'm touring. I'm doing stand-up comedy everywhere. And I have a new book, a children's book called The Magical Reality of Nadia. book, a children's book called The Magical Reality of Nadia. And if I'm coming to your town,

which I will announce soon, please come to my show. It is interesting and it is part of my story. Are you touring internationally as well or just in the States? Right now I'm touring in the States. So I've been to Dallas, Tampa, that's during the pandemic. Yeah. Tampa that's during the pandemic yeah that's those two states yeah New Jersey then Houston and

I went in Timonium Maryland and in two weeks I'm gonna be in Ohio and Cahoga Falls and then Miami have you done any

overseas shows since the pandemic started not since the pandemic I was just curious how much different it was I did London but that's before the pandemic started? Not since the pandemic. I was just curious how much different it was. I did London, but that's before the pandemic, of course. Okay.

Yeah. So I researched you. I looked you up. I Wikipedia'd you. So who knows how much of that shit's real. But you're the fucking real deal, obviously. I've heard about you. I've known about you.

But I didn't know all the shit that comes with you. Like you're, how do you say it? Cardiothoracic? Yeah, cardiothoracic. A heart surgeon. You were a heart surgeon. Layman terminology. Heart surgeon.

I mean, you were literally a heart surgeon who shifted gears into comedy. Yes. By accident, you're telling me? Absolutely. Absolutely by accident. And then at what age? 39. 39.

And you're now 47. So eight years in. You're a fucking heart surgeon. You got a children's book. You're a successful comedian. You're famous in how many goddamn countries? I'm also vegan. And you're vegan.

I mean, just go fuck yourself. And I did a show about it, too. In eight years. Yeah. So can we – you know what we do here. I say we highlight the lowlights. Let's start with where you're from originally, how you get into medicine, and then we can take it from there. All right.

So kind of the quick version of it. Very traditional upbringing in Egypt. Went to medical school. Became a heart surgeon. Did that for 12 years after medical school. At what age are you a heart surgeon? 25. Yeah, 25.

Okay. Can I ask you a few questions about that? Craziest thing. How many surgeries would you say you've performed oh i can't even remember 12 years we're talking about thousands i mean hundreds yeah because you see in heart surgery you first assist you assist a lot okay until you do your own okay but how many of your own would you say are we i would say in the hundreds yeah okay what's your success rate oh thank god it's like 98%. Is it really? Yeah, yeah.

So you've only lost a couple. Yeah, yeah. That's damn good, 98%. You're who I want to fucking see. I don't care if we're on the road and I have a heart attack. I'm like, let me see if I can look at it. So 98%. What's the craziest one you've ever – what's the craziest surgery?

No, the craziest stuff doesn't happen in the operation room in the heart surgery, because most of the time, people that come to the heart surgery, it's kind of, they're being prepared to the operation. It's the emergencies. Have you had the emergencies? Oh, yeah, yeah, gunshots. Oh, so you're not just doing health and everything. You're doing, if someone gets shot in the heart, you're working on that too?

Yeah, yeah, that's heart surgery. All of it because you there's a difference between a cardiologist and a heart surgeon i see a cardiologist he's just like he's an intervention that's what okay but the heart surgeon he actually cracks up your chest so what's the craziest stuff then a gunshot yeah we had we had a gunshot and i had to uh and they and I was the heart surgeon on call. And, I mean, the guy came in dead. And the thing is, his parents were out there. I think there was some sort of, it was two families fighting each other from rural Egypt. And the family waiting outside. And, of course, they were already angry.

So it's kind of, we are the weakest link as doctors so you're the don't kill the messenger and you're the fucking message yeah and he already there is like he's dead and what the hell you're gonna do with it he's nothing and they're waiting for us outside and uh and then it was leaked that their relative was dead and so they started to kind of destroy the emergency ward. Oh, man. So we had to escape from the back door.

But that happens a lot. A lot. Oh, yeah, yeah. That's part of, that is like every single intern resident story in an Egyptian hospital.

Do all the heart surgeons wear fucking sneakers and shit so you can run the fuck out of the back? If you're just a doctor. You don't want to wear those dress no no sometimes we just like you take off our like your scrubs and just like and then just like walk out do like a do like a kaiser sozi thing stop limping on the way out

um have you ever i'm guessing you have have you had to be the person to go tell family members? Oh, yeah, many times. I mean, what is that like? Yeah, it is. How do you? I mean, this will sound terrible, but it becomes part of your life, part of your routine. You're not phased out anymore.

You're just like, yeah, on to the next patient. Right. On to the next case. This is the worst thing that happens for you when you're a medical professional. It just – they turn to cases. I remember when my father died, I was 16 and I went to my doctor and he said to me – because he knew my dad and he goes, listen. And it was such a human moment because I – up to then, I'm 16. I looked at this guy like he's a doctor.

He must know everything. You know what I mean? And he said, look, I want to tell you they teach us in medical school how to deal with these things, but they don't teach you what to say about that to someone, especially a kid. So I don't even know what to fucking say to you. I'm really sorry. And I was like, damn, that was the first time I realized like, you know, doctors are people too. Like, you know, remember, I don't know if this ever happened to you, but I remember being in like elementary school, maybe fifth grade and seeing my teacher out at the mall or something. And I was like, oh, my God, you're a real person.

You know what I mean? Like, I just usually see you in this square room and you're teaching me this one fucking thing. So I thought that was a really cool moment but i get it i mean obviously if you're doing hundreds of them it's like yeah he's dead well actually the projection that you just said about like how you project other people that's the kind of that could be the story of my life and it even it was even augmented when i became a satirist that's even. You're not just speaking to one person because of his parents.

You're speaking to 40 million people. That's how many people are watching the show. And when you have so many people watching you, that's dangerous because 40 million people have an opinion about you. And that was kind of like part of the stress and the pressure that I was always under for the eight, nine years

that I've been into the medium. So what was the shift? What happened? under for eight, nine years that I've been into the medium. So what was the shift? What happened? Were you not happy being a – you say it was an accident. So let's hear how that happened. I was never happy being a doctor. Never? Never.

Was it something your family wanted you to do? Was that a family practice? Not a family practice. I make this joke all the time. I say in the Middle East, you're expected to be one of three things, a doctor, an engineer, or a disappointment. So that's the expectations. And it doesn't matter how many times. It's just like, you know, it's there.

And it's just like imposed on you somehow. Parents, they will never say, oh, we never forced you. You got it by yourself. It's kind of like. What did your parents do? My father was a judge and my mom was a business professor. A judge. What kind of judge?

Supreme Court judge. Supreme Court judge. Holy crap. Yeah. So they were like, you know, middle class, very respected people. But it is part of the picture has to, the picture has to be complete, the social picture. So my older brother became an engineer. So one more slot for me.

I became a doctor. Thank God we didn't have a third child, a third brother. He would be a disappointment. He'd be the disappointment. So we kind of like, so somebody had to take that. So I became the disappointment. No, just kidding. I was going to say, I mean, what happens when you shift?

Do they? No, no. The thing is like the whole country shifted. By 2011, I was already on my way to come to America because I passed all of my American exams, my USMLEs, and I had already a fellowship waiting for me here in America. Where? Cleveland. Okay. So I Cleveland. Okay. So I was going there.

And then the revolution happened, the Arab Spring. What year is this? 2011. Yeah, 2011. So 2011 happened, and I was part of the doctors that went to Tahrir Square to fix people's injuries. There was a lot of clashes and people getting shot and killed. And we just left everything and we went there.

And when you are on the ground, you realize that there are two different types of realities. The reality that you know for sure, that you see for yourself, people wanting change, good people wanting a revolution, wanting democracy. And then there is the other reality that is propagated by the state-run media, which is a conspiracy. These are like, you are like insurgents. And I, all my life, I was mesmerized by Jon Stewart. He was the reason why I understood even, not political satire, politics in America.

I'm not kidding you. I'm with you on that. I truly believe I got more informative, better news from Jon Stewart than CNN, any of these places, any of them. Jon Stewart was – and to come from MTV. Yeah. To come up through MTV and parlay that into the Daily Show and everything else, just amazing. He's the man. All the work he does with the firemen in 9-11 and all that, he's great.

And in 2001, that was the first time I saw him on television. I was visiting America. Oh, you had never heard of him or seen him prior to that? No, in the 1990s. Like, how would you know? And then I started to watch his show, and I couldn't understand it because I didn't know who are Democrats,

what are Republicans, what is Fox News. So he educated me about that. So always like in the back of my mind, can we ever have a show like this? But it's wishful thinking because we were living under dictatorship. Then we have a revolution. And then suddenly there is like a space, an opportunity. So I started these YouTube videos. Okay.

So are you saying prior to the revolution, you weren't allowed to do YouTube chat, no shows like that at all? No, no, you couldn't do anything that is related to politics at all, that you'll be picked up. It was like a dictatorship that's been there for 30 years. It's kind of like a better dictatorship than we have now, but at that time, still a dictatorship. So they would come get you if you did some shit like that. Yeah, so we had a revolution, there is a space of an opportunity.

So I did the YouTube videos and I didn't think about this going anywhere. I was going to Cleveland. Next thing I know, millions of views, millions, 5 million views in a few weeks. Wow. And I know that now you get 5 million views when your dog farts on TikTok. But at that time, 5 million views, 2011, in Egypt, that was a huge deal.

No other videos actually did these kind of numbers. Suddenly, everybody stops me in the street. Suddenly, everybody knows me. Suddenly, I'm in the morning grounds with my doctors, with my professors, and patients are recognizing me. And it was funny because the patient was like, oh, here's the funny guy from the internet. See, is he going to operate on me? Yeah, I would be scared too.

It's kind of like, oh, it's like part of his starstruck. It's like, no, I don't want this guy to crack my chest open. Please, like, can somebody else take this? I don't want to be part of this, you know? Love your show. You ain't working on me, though, man. So that was a little bit embarrassing. But I continued being a doctor.

Like, I continued being a doctor by doing the YouTube videos. Did it end up conflicting? No. But I ended up having offers from television. And now I have to choose. And the same week that I got my TV deal, the papers from Cleveland finally arrived. And now I have to make a choice. Cleveland or comedy, bro.

It's comedy. You did the right thing. No. You did the right thing. No, it was Cleveland or money. So I chose the money. Because it was like decent money. It was TV money. Yeah. So I chose the money. Because it was like decent money. It was TV money.

So I did the show. So you get your own, what, like daily show? Weekly. Weekly show in Egypt. Yeah. And again, and then it exploded, 40 million people watching the show, 40 million people watching every episode. These are numbers never seen before.

And now with the rise of the show, there's a rise of the Islamists. The Islamists came to the power too. So they didn't like what I have to say about it. So are you getting death threats? Yeah, but you see, here's the thing with death threats. When people tell, they're kind of like,

guys, did somebody send me emails and comments on Twitter like I'm going to kill you? A million times. That's why when people say, I'm going to kill you. A million times. That's why I went in the movies. I got death threats. Really?

Did you have somebody coming up to your house and with a knife? No, it's a comment on YouTube. It's like, bitch, I have this the whole time. You got an email then. It's just like, what the fuck? Seriously, you know celebrity these days? It's like, oh, I've got a bullet. It's a death threat.

Imagine if you're having a 14 million people and half of them like hate watch your show. Yeah, half. And kind of, and the government

is against you and you have militias coming up and having your pictures being burned, you know? So it's like, fuck you.

It's like, when people say, were you threatened? It's like, yeah, but I didn't think about it. I had a show to do, you know?

I was actually more worried about being slaughtered in Twitter if I have a bad episode than having a death threat. Yes. Because if you have a death threat, what's the worst that can happen? You're going to die. And you're going to die like a hero. And that's it. And you don't have to worry about the preparation of the next show again. But if you have a bad show, you have no excuse.

Oh, my God, I'm sorry. I had a death threat, so I didn't write He's like, oh my God, I'm sorry. I had death threats. So I didn't write good jokes. Nobody cares. You are a commodity. You are a commodity. You're being thrown to the lines and you have to perform no matter what. So I became this guy who does the show. And I woke up one day and I have, there's a warrant for my arrest from the Islamist. So I went there and I was interrogated for six hours. Why is there a warrant? I was accused of four accounts, insulting the president,

insulting Islam, spreading false rumors and disrupting the fabric of society, whatever the fuck that means. And then I... So where is there? You're taken there. Do they come get you

or do you go? So the warrant was against me and I turned myself into the general prosecutor, kind of like the DA. Okay. And you're sitting with this yeah and for six hours they're asking me to explain my jokes no that's the worst thing

i know it's crazy they're asking me they're asking me and it's crazy it's like what did you mean by this joke so i said nothing so why did the people laugh it's like guys are you kidding me and it was like it was like for six hours, and they tried to even play the episodes, but they were playing it on a very outdated computer, so it was not working. So they ended up having transcripts, reading joke by joke.

And the worst part about it is like, as they were reading my jokes, I was thinking, damn, these jokes are not that funny. I need new writers. I know. Yeah, I did. So I went out on bail, and I fired half of my staff. I know. I know.

That's what you thought the crime was. I don't know if they were really asking me if i'm breaking the law or because they're not funny enough and and it was crazy i mean like there was like a whole like i was being arrested and this was broadcasted on cnn which is like the the the happiest your arrest was uh i it was broadcasted on cnn so i was going there and then there was like a lot of like i was surrounded by policemen then they put me in and then the policemen the police officers as they're putting me into they asked me for selfies for their kids because it was a popular they did yeah it's like a doctor it's like it's like why don't you smile it's like why don't why why do you think i'm not smiling because everyone will

call you doctor still yeah okay i'm doctor yeah like that i'm still today comedy ain't getting rid of that yeah so yeah and so i took pictures with the police officers and i posed a few times to give him the smile that he wants for his kid and then after the military after the islamist uh you know after that by two months the military came in and they removed the islamist now the million at that time i was a national hero i was the one who stood against the Muslims, right? Hold on. We can't gloss over national hero. What does that feel like? Does it feel like anything to you?

You seem like a very humble, grounded man that doesn't get too hyped up on your own bullshit. But what does that feel like? I think part of it is that I became famous very late. And I became famous after being a doctor and being really being like, really being like kind of having a very tough life as a resident. We're not used to praise. We used to be basically pounded on by our professors. This whole thing about fame and being that much exposure, I'm not used to. What's it like going out in public

at this point oh it's torture i couldn't uh i mean it's it's it's great and everything but you couldn't you couldn't have like a so it's kind of like you cave in you kind of you avoid public places but then i i like i was like oh but he's the one who stood against them a muslim brotherhood he's the one who went islamist and again. He's the one who is an Islamist. And again, that was a projection that I never asked for because I never, I always said, this is not an activist show. This is a comedy show. We don't care about your political projection about me because I am not. So now the military are in power and I'm an equal opportunity offender.

I don't care who's in power. I make fun who's in power. So I made one episode about the military and I was canceled after one episode. No way. Yeah. They're that fast. Oh, no, no, no. And families and friends turned against me because if you think that in Egypt, if you think the religion is holy, the military is sacred.

You can't even touch it. More than religion? 100%. Whoa, I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah. So, and the military was just like, it's there and untouchable. Do you remember your joke? No, it was not even a joke. It was basically, it was joking about the propaganda of the military.

I see. So it wasn't even even a joke. It was basically, it was joking about the propaganda of the military. I see. So it wasn't even really a joke. The thing is, I never made fun of religion, and I didn't make fun of the military. I made fun of the people who represent both, who like to hide. I always say small people hide behind big ideas. So small people hide behind the flag, patriotism, religion, Allah, Jesus. And they kind of like, and so if you make fun of me, you make fun of all of these things that I'm hiding behind, which is, of course, bullshit. Very well said.

Yeah, it's bullshit. So I made fun about all of their propaganda. And so I was canceled. People, my friends and family, many of them turned against me. Really? Even my mom. Your mom? Yeah.

What was that? That's harsh. What is against me. Really? Even my mom. Your mom? Yeah. What was that? That's harsh. What is, wow. No, no, seriously. My mom, that was even, so after the military came in, there was like martial laws, and there was like people killed in the streets,

and it was terrible. So the show was suspended before we come back on air because there were martial laws. How many episodes in are you at this point? At that point, I don That point, two years. Wow. But now there is, the military is now kind of showing signs of military fascism after religious fascism. So I started to write against it before my show is on the air again.

My mom is not happy. She said, no, the military is the only one that can save us. You cannot say this about the military. And she was very angry at me. And for 10 days we do not happy. She said, no, the military is the only one that can save us. You cannot say this about the military. And she was very angry at me. And for 10 days, we do not speak. And is that a long time normally for you guys?

Yeah, because my mom is a typical mom that she always expects us to apologize. So this time I didn't. She's this one, a very,

very proud woman. And on the 11th day, so on the 10th day, we talk. Small talk. Who called you? I called her. Okay.

I didn't speak. We didn't speak about what happened, but like, you feel there's a tension in the call. The next day, she died. No. Yeah. Yeah. So she went to sleep, and she never woke up. My dad called me the next day.

Your mom died. How old was she? No, she was like, she was 64. 64. Absolutely healthy. Yeah. So, and so after that,

so after that, after that, I do my show and that is the one episode after which everybody turned against me and I turned from, and now I'm thankful that my mom didn't get to see that

because she didn't see the turn against me so kind of that's the first blessing in disguise now can i can i just ask you a few questions here about your mom's passing were you very close to your mom yeah absolutely and i mean how glad are you that you called you make you wait one more day and you don't talk to her ever again the way you go out is on an argument well i, I am glad, but if that didn't happen, I mean, I don't wanna beat myself up to that because I didn't kill her. And maybe if I continue to do the show

and then she saw the stuff that's happening to me and the turn and something happened, maybe I would have felt guilty, but it happened. And she died very peacefully in her sleep, and then I did the, and then I continued doing the show. And then this one episode, and then everybody turns against me. Now I'm the most hated person in Egypt by the propaganda, right? Many people still like me, but they are afraid to speak up.

Now, I stay unemployed for four months. I go to another network, a regional network. And I go in for another run a few months. And then I get canceled again. And now there is, it's becoming more and more difficult to stay in Egypt. And now there is a court cases against me. All of these fake stuff that actually make me, it make you kind of like put you in jail, but without using the whole idea about freedom of expression,

you know, taxes, whatever. Then, then I had a verdict against me, finding me a hundred million pounds out of nowhere. The lawyer said, you need to leave Egypt.

I leave Egypt. I never come back. I leave Egypt in 10th of November, uh, 2014. I leave, I go to Dubai. Three months later, my father died in a,

dies in a car accident. Now both of my parents died, but here's I go to Dubai. Three months later, my father dies in a car accident. Now, both of my parents died, but here's the blessing in disguise. Both of my parents died suddenly. My mom died in her sleep. My dad, he died in a car accident. They did not suffer. They died instantly.

It's devastating. They're taken away from you. But now, I saw both of my grandparents from both sides dying very slow, humiliating death, dementia, diapers, Alzheimer's, the works. My grandmother from my mother's side was in bed for 10 years, and she was like, she couldn't understand. And you know when you say like, oh, I hope she's just like she rests. I was always in fear of seeing my dad and my mom going through this. So when they died, all I have of them are memories of very strong independent people.

And they didn't. And now that I'm uprooted from my own country, I'm in America, I don't have to worry about them anymore. So that's why I tell you it is a tragedy, but it's a blessing in disguise. A big, big, big blessing in disguise. So now comes to the trauma, the big trauma now. The big trauma is not the death. The big trauma is like how you're uprooted and everything that you worked for.

And I did a show that it was never done in the history of the airport, 40 million people watching me. Were there other copycat shows after you started? All failed, yeah. And then I have nothing. Like, you know, I'm a husband now. In Hispana, what are we talking, three years?

Four years, yeah. Four years. Yeah. And now the only way that I could stay in the Middle East is I had to compromise. The military intelligence would send people to me, come back and do the show, but it was going to be some sort of an understanding. Hey, do a game show. Do something that is not related to politics.

Speak to, do like celebrities, do like Jimmy Fallon kind of thing. Don't do politics. Don't do you. Yeah, and I left everything and I came to America. Had you been here before for any any reason america oh i visited america a lot okay i mean i always visit america i mean i always like being in america and so i come here and i have nothing and now this is where the trauma where

do you go first uh oakland and then i oakland yeah did you pick up we had we had friends there that kind of we stayed because we needed to ground ourselves. From Egypt to Oakland, huh? Yeah. That's tight. Then I leave. I know. I like that, dude.

I know. And I leave that and I come to Los Angeles. Now I'm someone who's huge in the Middle East, but it doesn't matter here. You're nobody here. Now we have to build your career from the ground up again. now we have to build your career from the ground up again and the the amount the the difficulty is not just trying to make it here but also having to deal with your fans who always follow you and consider you as a failure because you cannot do the show anymore and so why don't you do the show from youtube i was just like why it's no anymore. And then I started to try to build my name here very slowly.

So I started to give lectures, talks. Then I took this lecture and talks, and I turned them into stand-up. Okay, so your lectures and talks on what? Are you back to cardio? No, no, no, no, no. Like talks about my experience. Now I'm done with medicine.

Got it. And you stay that way. Yeah, I make this joke like I'm not a doctor anymore, and because of that, many more patients are alive today. So I'm here, I'm here, and now I start doing stand-up. Let's take a quick break and tell you about our first sponsor, Ritual. We deserve to know what we're putting in our bodies and why, especially when it comes to something we take every day.

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English is my second language, and it's is my second language and it's not just the language it's not just the jokes it's the delivery it's rewiring your brain for the right cadence the right speed the right rhythm i have to relearn how to speak yeah you got to be a whole different person yeah i mean you've had to learn how to be in a yeah that's crazy i couldn't imagine that going to another country and then being like, oh man, I've been doing it this way all this time. Yeah, so I managed to get a residency in Joe's Pub in New York. Stayed there for two months.

Some days, some nights were better than the others. Some nights were terrible. Other nights were okay. And then after two years, and now I have like a tour. And I'm going, and I'm doing it in in in mixed rooms between arabs and americans and i am pitching shows for hbo and waiting for the results and i'm pitching and now i have a a children's show that's doing very well and i have um an animation studio that wants to take this book to turn it into an animation series. So I'm still getting around here.

And I'm the age of 47 and I'm doing stuff that young 22 years comedians do. But I'm happy because it is very scary, very unsettling. But I'm learning something every day. Some days I will be in a theater like the Kennedy Center with 2,000 seats watching the show, and some time I will be in Timonium, Maryland, doing the show for 18 people. And I would tell you the smaller rooms are a blessing

because they teach you stuff that you cannot learn from the bigger rooms. And I think the one thing that I was struggling with is the whole idea of am I good enough? Am I talented enough?

Was that a fluke? Was it just like, oh, luck luck and I'm not really that good? And that kind of like self-doubt, that kind of always, the imposter syndrome, everybody has it. And I'm still asking these questions every day and I'm still always doing it every day. So, but at least-

I think it keeps you in check. It really humbles you and keeps you grounded and keeps yourself in check. Yeah. So a lot of people look at the first transformation between a doctor and a medical and a comedian and say, oh, that's huge. But I would think that the second reinvention. I agree. Was even much more difficult because you're coming here.

I've never been a doctor and I would agree with that. Yeah. The second reinvention, going from doctor to comedian would be easier than going from someone who's so big in Egypt to no one in America and trying to do it. And restarting, not just restarting,

but refinding yourself. Refinding yourself and until today, you have Egyptians, big fans come to the shows like, why don't you do it in Arabic? So even some of your fans

not even accepting that. If you're not doing the show, you're not relevant. And I discovered that those people are just locking themselves into, not just in the show, they're locking themselves into that era. The two, three years when we had Hope. Because that is kind of more nostalgic. It's not about the show, but what it represented. And I had a third reinvention.

So in the middle of all of this, I turned plant-based diet, vegan, right? Wait, let me ask you before we get into vegan. Because that's actually like a third reinvention. This is not just like, I say I'm Arab and vegan, which makes me scary and annoying. But I promise you, this is not going to be an annoying story. I believe you This is not going to be an annoying story I believe you I just want to know Have you gone back and done any stand up or anything

Anywhere close to home In Jordan In Lebanon How was it It was good You have a good turnout People really come Yeah but they're still coming in expecting the show

Yeah they are Not stand up Okay so so we we go to what makes you do that 2013 i became plant-based diet because a friend of mine had ms and he kind of reversed his disease so i he really did yeah so for me i turned i switched to plant-based diet not not because of like you know not for ethical reasons which i do respect that when people do but it's more of health reasons. So I'm not militant. I would cheat every now and then.

It's fine. What's a cheat meal for you? It's just like a little bit of cheese, you know, like a pizza or whatever, you know. So, then I started to speak about that. And then people ridiculed me.

It's like, oh, it's because you cannot speak about politics. You're speaking about food. Why don't you go back, make me a sandwich? You know? You got to love the answer.

Yeah, so suddenly I'm a woman now. So that made me angry. So I said, I'm going to make the one thing that people make fun of the most successful thing that I do. So I created a website. It's called plantb.tv. It's the only bilingual website in the world about plant-based diet. It has videos.

It has recipes. It has success stories. It has articles, everything. What's the website again? Plantb. Plant. Yeah, plantb. That's what I wanted to make sure.

.tv, not plantb. Yeah. And it's meant to be because I tell people, if you're eating your steaks and chicken and happy, dude, good plan B. Yeah. And it's meant to be because I tell people, if you're eating your steaks and chicken and happy, dude, good for you. But if you have a problem, try plan B, try plans. So that's how we do it. And then I managed to take that, the video, the online video,

and I sold a show to a TV network in the Middle East about Plan B's diet. So I did the same thing when I did the political satire show. Took it from the internet and did a whole show, and I sold it. And now I'm negotiating even a bigger deal with a bigger network to do a reality TV show about transformation, about getting people. It's kind of like the biggest loser, but instead of losing pounds and weight, you're losing medications only through plant-based diet.

Oh, hell're losing medications. Only through plant-based diet. Yeah. So I'm doing that and then I, and I'm now turning plant B into an app where people are gonna have like a paid subscription in order to have medical coaching, medical consultation. And so I'm bringing in investors, I already brought in an investor. So. So it's kind of now, it's kind of like I was, in investors or you're a protein investor. You're a fucking juggernaut.

It's kind of like I was, because I was pissed because how people would kind of- Can we stop for a second? We cannot gloss over your friend had MS and reversed his effects. That's major. How? Plant-based diet and what changes do you see? Is it gone or is it minimalized? What are we talking about?

No, it's totally under control. So he used to have like five symptoms, you know, his ear. There's some stuff that are reversible. So his left ear is like 20% gone, but he had like tingling, like, you know, paresis, pain, and that's all gone now. All gone. And he's now playing water polo again. And he has these retreats where

people come in for water fasting. So he did it by two things, water fasting and refeeding on plant-based diet. So as a doctor, I was one of those people who made fun of vegans all the time. But now I started to read about it and basically it's about reducing inflammation. Here in California, you have Loma Linda. Loma Linda is one of the blue zones. And the reason why it's one of the- It's called a blue zone? Yeah. Loma Linda is one of the blue zones. And the reason why it's so- It's called a blue zone? Yeah. There's like five blue zones around the world.

Okay. What's a blue zone? I have no idea. A blue zone where you have the population of that region have much longer life expectancy and much less chronic diseases. And where is that? Loma Linda, where else around? Loma Linda is the only one in America.

There is Okinawa in Japan. There is one in Italy. There is one in, I forgot the last two. I think there's one in Costa Rica. There's one more. So, and then they found that these people have a much more plant-based, diet-based food. And if they eat fish or meat, they're like in very, very, very small amounts.

Fish in small amounts? Yeah. Okay. Or even meat in small amounts. Very, very small amounts. So, there's a lot of science. There's a lot of papers. And it's much more research than any other of those like keto or paleo diets.

So I watched documentaries, I attended their conferences, and I got sold. And I said, this is the way to do. And again, this is not like about, it's not militant. I even tell people, it's what you do 90%, 80% of your life. If you want to cheat every now and then, that's fine. But if you have a chronic disease, I recommend that you go more 100%. So now I'm changing people's mind through food. And now I have more followers.

And now there are people that are meeting me in the Middle East. It's like, I didn't know that you had a comedy show. I knew you from the Plant-Based Diet show. Fuck, yeah. So how long have you been plant-based uh seven years seven years yeah and what what do you notice differently about yourself because you said you used to make fun of the vegan so what how much different well first of all my my eyes were brown now they're blue Because that's the first thing you said. No, I feel much more healthier. I'm much more rested.

I have less inflammation. Bones, joints feel better. Yeah. My recovery time is much better. I mean, there is like one of the best show, movies,

documentaries, The Game Changers. It's incredible. It's about vegan athletes. It's called The Game Changer? The Game Changers. Oh, The Game Changers.

Yeah. And now you have people who are like elite athletes who are on plant-based diet. vegan athletes. It's called the game changer? The game changes. Oh, the game changes. Yeah. And now you have people who are like elite athletes who are on plant-based diet. It's great. So when I do it, I don't do it in a way kind of like to change people's lifestyle. I said like if you're happy with your lifestyle, whatever meat and chicken you're eating, that's fine.

But you have chronic problems. If you have a problem with your sleeping, with your energy, maybe you would like to try something else. And a lot of people try it. I do even have a 21 days challenge. People do it and they feel amazing. And then they come back and they eat a little bit of meat, but not as much as they used to. So they kind of change their mind.

So kind of like my whole life now is kind of like reinvention. I'm trying to challenge yourselves and putting yourself in places where you're not very comfortable. I'm a big believer in getting yourself out of your comfort zone. I'm a big believer in change. Change is a pain in the ass, but it is so necessary. Yeah. It is so necessary. Every time change has been even forced upon me, I've been able to adapt and move on and then look back and be

like, thank God this happened. Thank God this happened. Yeah. So it's been thrown at you your whole life like that, it sounds like. Well, wait. We did talk about before you got on. You said you had a solid run for a while there without any craziness. I don't know.

People talk. I mean mean being in the middle east in itself is a trauma i mean i want to i didn't want to i mean it definitely is you're used to shit yeah i mean it's just like you know it is a trauma you know on my show i make this joke whenever you find a white male shooter he's crazy crazy. It's like, wow, what a Middle Easterner. We could be crazy. There's a thousand things in the Middle East that drives us crazy. Let me give you an example. You guys send your troops to the Middle East.

They come back with PTSD. We fucking live there. We live there. We have the source code of craziness. We could be crazy, you know. So the Middle East is just like a big bag of trauma. But since we've just been living there all our lives, we don't feel it. It's kind of like, oh, it's like we come here and Americans are complaining of something.

It's like, oh, that's normal. I made fun when I was in Houston. I went there in that terrible week when they had like shortage of everything. Oh, you were down there? Yeah, I went there. I went there like the day that Ted Cruz left to Cancun. I came in as a savior from Los Angeles.

So the first thing I said, guys, this week is terrible. I mean, look at you guys. I mean, you had failing infrastructures, corrupt politicians, absolute lack of human rights, like heat, electricity, and water. Americans were like, oh, my God, that's terrible. Arabs were like, welcome to our lives, bitches. It's kind of like, but this is the apocalypse. Like, my God, that's terrible. Arabs were like, welcome to our lives, bitches. It's kind of like, but this is the apocalypse. Like, back home, that's Tuesday.

So it's kind of like, we're used to a lot of shit, but I think because we lived through that all our lives and through a generational kind of acceptance of that's what life is, maybe there is trauma, but we don't really realize it's trauma. Yeah, but there's more to you. There's the hustle that I love so much. I see.

Where does that come from? Where does that work ethic that's instilled in you that don't give up, don't like we're going to go do this now instead of woe is me? Where does that, who does that come from? Being a nerd. A nerd? You were a nerd growing up? Medical school, bro.

I mean, still, doctors fuck i mean still doctors fuck bro doctors fuck no but like seriously i think it is it is i maybe it's the way that we raised i mean we raised not to complain uh you get good grades good for you not for us it's just it was always expected that you need to overperform even to over deliver that is not expected that you need to overperform, even to overdeliver. That is not something that you should be rewarded to or being, you know, have a pat on the back. That's just what it is. It's expected. It's expected. And at the end of the day, it's like.

I agree. And at the end of the day, if you don't do it, you're going to fail. You're going to survive. You need to survive. And I think I really, I always talk to myself saying that I need to stop. I need to tell my, I need to remind my entitled self that the world doesn't owe me anything. That's right. It sure as fuck doesn't. And I think we all need to remind our entitled selves that the word doesn't owe you anything.

It's like, oh, good. Okay. So you were uprooted. You were investigated or interrogated. The show was taken. Boo-hoo. All right. Nobody's going to give you a handout.

I mean, I don't know any fucking comedians that's happened to and then had to go to another country and star all over and be a success. And as a matter of fact, if you kind of like cower and wail, that's exactly what is. But all of these things, all of these people want from you. Nobody is going to say, all right, come out now. It's fine. No, that's life. So and if you do it like the people who hate you, they were. I think I think for a very long time I was kind of motivated by revenge.

a very long time, I was kind of motivated by revenge. And this is the wrong motive. Revenge on who or what? Revenge of all of the people who doubted me, who kind of reveled in my failure of having everything that's taken away from me, who always kind of like made sure that like, oh, you're done, you're a husband, because that gets to you. And so now when I'm kind of like having kind of a moderate success, I feel like even if I got the best thing, if I won an Oscar tomorrow, it doesn't matter. The trolls will always be trolls. The haters are not going to be haters.

And then at the end of the day, if you got your Oscars, your Golden Globes, your Emmys, your specials on Netflix, your bestsellers, your million-dollar deal, who are these people? Why are they important for you to take revenge at them? They're not. I think it was, for a very long time, I knew this was a very negative impulse. You did know. I did know, but I couldn't help it. But now when I say I'm much more relaxed, I'm much more, I'm doing it for myself. I'm doing it to prove to myself that I still exist.

I'm still relevant. I can still create. I'm happier. I've always used it instead of revenge as fuel. You know, you don't, thank you. Just put it in the tank, put it in the tank, put it in the tank, and then use it to fuel you instead of force you away from something. Motivation.

Absolutely, yeah. So, yeah, I think if this is a show about the low lights and about the trauma, it's always about kind of that uncertainty that always had. I mean, it was an uncertainty that came after like a very, very huge success. Because the success was maturic. It's like three years, boom, you're on top of the world. And then, boom, it's taken away from you. And now you have to climb your way up again. Now you have to top of the world. And then, boom, it's taken away from you. And now you have to climb your way up again.

Now you have to play with the rules. That applies for everybody. Right. But you're doing it. We'll see. You're doing it. When I do that, when I get that Netflix special, I'll tell you. I want to go back and ask you, your parents,

who was the bigger disciplinarian, mom or dad? Mom. Mom. It sounds like mom when you said. And then were your parents still married when your mom passed? They were. Did you get any closer to your father during those few years where he was still alive? Yeah, well, my dad is one of those people that you appreciate them much later in life.

one of those people that you appreciate them much later in life my dad was very or as i thought was passive he was like you know minding his own business he also wanted to have his space well you said he's a judge though and i've been in front of my share of judges and i gotta say of all the people i've dealt with in my life, judges seem to be right here. Like it didn't matter what anyone ever said offensive to them. They would just go, okay. Yeah, he's my dad. I was amazed by that. Like you've seen so much and probably heard so much.

You're desensitized to the people taking these shots at you to the point where it just bounces right off. My dad was that. And because he was quiet and my mom was the most vocal, you get attracted. You look at your mom as the source of authority. You look at your mom as the- He's the judge and she's the jury. Yeah.

No, she's the judge and the jury and the executioner. She's all of them. She's everything. But I didn't appreciate my dad until very much later in life. I saw how much of an incredible dad, an incredible man he was. And he did everything quietly. He didn't make a fuss about anything. In what ways was he?

Like, I mean, he was there. He provides. He did. He was just, like, making sure of everything. But it's kind of like because you're a kid, you don't see. It's like, you know, like the duck in the water, you don't see her legs. That was not my dad. Yeah, I mean, parenting is a long game.

It's a long, slow play, and it doesn't pay reward. If you've done your job half as good as you hoped to, then, yeah, your kids might not realize. I look back on my dad had twins in 1973. I'm 47, and he's gone now, but he was at every fucking practice, at every game. I look back now like, how in the hell did you do it? You worked an hour from where we lived. How the hell did you do it? And I start to look back on all those things, and there's so many questions i wish i could ask him now um but yeah i um i get that i get that yeah no i mean my mom was like one of those women who were very

she was very flamboyant she was tourist she was always there she was so she needed the gratification you know appreciation my dad didn't have didn't need any of that he was just in his own head and are you and your brother close yeah and is he still in egypt yeah he is yeah is he still an engineer yes did he ever did he ever want to work for you did he ever want to come on the show he didn't like that my brother always kind of like you know just kind of like, you know, just kind of like watched from afar. And yeah, we still have, we're still good. He's a wonderful brother. Now you said some of your other family turned on you.

Are they still, are you still excommunicated from them or what? Well, half of them are dead. The other half, we don't speak anymore. You don't? Yeah. They don't hit you up? No. It's fine.

I mean, I think with my parents dying as if the connections were severed. As if there was a sign from me. It was like, all right, you can go now. And you can go now. Yeah. And go pursue this. So Los Angeles is my home. The United States is my country.

And I deal with it as this way. I don't, I try as much as possible not to let whatever is back there annoy me. So do you want to do, would you want to do another show like that? I don't know. No? I really don't know. I stopped thinking about it a long time ago.

I'm focused about what I do now. Are you still doing the plant-based show? Yeah. You still have that going though? Yeah, yeah. And say it again, plantb.tv. .tv, okay. And what have you surprisingly, like what meals do you think are, you wouldn't expect to be good?

Like if I'm sitting here like, what's the first thing I try to be to get me hooked? I can't help you. You can't give me one suggestion? No, because... You all got a fake chicken parm right now? No, no, no. Because here's the thing. It's a philosophy about trying to reduce what's bad for you.

It's more about like excluding the stuff that you shouldn't eat. So the thing is, it's not an instant thing because your taste buds takes time until they use. So for example, now when I eat arugula or spinach, they taste sweet. Really? Yeah, because- You've done it so long.

Because my taste buds are not blunted anymore by all of the oil and the salt and the sugar and all of the processed stuff. So now I enjoy kind of much more basic foods and it tastes much better. Okay. I was one of those people. I was a typical Egyptian with like three-fourths of spoons of sugar in my tea. Oh, wow.

Really? Yeah. That's very common. Very Egyptian. Wow. Three-fourths of spoons of sugar. In your tea? In my tea.

Daily? Yeah. Now I can't even put like half a spoon. I can't. What does it do to your body? Sugar? Yeah. What doesn't it do to your body?

Honestly, if you had a cup of that right now, do you get sick? I wouldn't even like, one sip would just like, it's like I can't. But it's like, it's the whole thing about like, it all comes down to one thing, inflammation. It's the kind of inflammation that these foods does to you. Yeah. So.

So do you have any children? I have Nadia. The book, the children's book, The magic reality of Nadia is based on her. She's nine. She's nine. And Adam is three and a half. So you have a nine and a three and a half. Yeah.

Man, you did a little late like me. I got a six-year-old. Yeah. I should fucking go plant-based. I could probably move around better. Watch the game changes and forks over knives. Maybe it's a good start. All right. And where are your daughters now?

My daughter is in, I think we are in Redondo Beach. So the schools now are kind of like 50%. So they are like in school 50% and online 50%. Okay. And are you married? Yeah. You are. You don't wear a ring?

Well, I mean, we don't wear a ring because we do a very active life and kind of like it kind of – she doesn't wear a ring. We don't let this stuff define our relationship. No, I hear you. I'm big on that too. I believe in that. And this is all like pagan rituals anyways. I love it. I want to learn, bro.

Look, I know we got to get you out of here so um i want to ask you um after everything we've talked about now going back to 16 year old you what would you what advice would you give to 16 year old bassa oh that's easy buy bitcoin you would uh absolutely man what the hell i would like be buying bitcoin since like when it was like six cents do you have it now no i have nothing and you would go back and tell i missed out man fucking buy bitcoin that's it i love it please uh one more time plug anything you'd like thank you well I'm going to be in Cahoga Falls Ohio 11th to 13th of March

Miami 19th to 21st of March which is my birthday by the way and buy the book it's a children's book it's a beautiful book based on Nadia and it has magic Egyptian ancient Egyptian history and it's a really cool book and it's one of, it is really topping the chart now.

So it's called The Magic and Reality of Nadia. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming on. This has been really great. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. As always, RyanSickler.com, Ryan Sickler on all social media.

We'll talk to you all next week.