Ramy Youssef is reflecting on his remarks about Palestine on Saturday Night Live final yr.

The Ramy star opened up about his determination to deal with the battle in Gaza throughout his opening monologue when he hosted the present in March 2024, saying that whereas he acknowledges that "it's not frequent" to say "free Palestine" on dwell TV, he wasn't nervous to deal with the subject in Studio 8H.

"It's extra nerve-racking to not say one thing," the comic advised The New York Times in a brand new interview. "It's extra nerve-racking to attempt to protect your self from no matter criticism is gonna come. And loads of it has come. However I get extra tense if I'm sitting quietly, making an attempt to remain protected."

Within the monologue, Youssef recalled his pal Ahmed asking him to hope for his household in Gaza. "I'm like, 'God, please, please assist Ahmed’s household,'" he stated of his prayer after their dialog. "'Please cease the struggling. Cease the violence. Please free the individuals of Palestine, please. And please free the hostages, all of the hostages, please.'"

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Youssef then insisted that he stands by his monologue. "What I stated is totally inoffensive," he advised The New York Occasions. "Individuals are delicate about it. Or individuals would possibly say: 'Nicely, why didn't you say this? Or why didn't you try this?' However there's nothing controversial about any of it."

Youssef additionally defined why he doesn't suppose the battle in Gaza ought to be known as a battle. "Look, there are false equivalencies when it comes to energy," he stated. "That's what individuals are speaking about. They're speaking about dynamics of energy."

He continued, "If you have a look at Gaza, you're speaking about a spot the place their water and electrical energy are managed. So even the framing of the sooner query of calling it a battle, you realize, I'm like, 'All proper, name it no matter you wish to name it.' Sure, there are two sides who’re preventing, however there's an enormous energy imbalance, and that’s simply unequivocally true."

Youssef elaborated on his reasoning. "[Israel] may flip off the electrical energy, they may flip off the water, they’ll flip off what help is getting in," he stated. "It’s like being in a wrestling match with somebody the place you're controlling the opposite man's energy and the way a lot water he will get. He sneaks just a few PowerBars that you just didn't learn about."

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Finally, Youssef doesn't suppose anybody ought to help the violence in Gaza. "No one desires there to be individuals getting bombed indiscriminately, and no one desires there to be hostages. There’s nothing controversial in saying it," he careworn. "Something I've stated sincerely, I may tattoo it to myself as a result of there's no drawback."

"That's why I'm not afraid," he stated. "As a result of it's like: What did I say? 'Cease killing children.' 'Oh, my God, this man's loopy.' What? It's not a factor."

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