Dati Defends Decision to Remove Comedian from Public TV After Controversial Remarks

Questioned by LFI deputy Farida Amrani after announcing last week that comedian Merwane Benlazar "will no longer be on screen," in this case on France 5 where he presented for the first time a humorous piece in the "C à vous" program on January 31, Rachida Dati explained the justification for her decision. "Has he written or made statements in the past that can offend, shock, hurt? Yes," she defended herself.

"Are you now the director of programming for public broadcasting? Will you admit that this dismissal is purely and simply Islamophobic censorship?" the deputy asked her. Comedian Merwane Benlazar faced strong criticism on the social network X after his appearance on the show, which did not focus on his column, but rather on his physical appearance (his hat and beard) and on old posts.

The Minister of Culture seized the opportunity to settle her accounts with the comedian and columnist on France Inter who indirectly attacked her in a sketch broadcast last weekend on his Instagram account. "Nothing justifies the systematic essentialization... The comedian should also stop saying he was fired by an Arab," she blurted out. In his sketch, Benlazar launched this quip: "I knew I was going to be fired one day, by an Arab it’s a pain."

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