(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese superstar Haifa Wehbe shocked the Arab world on Thursday when she wore a revealing dress during a talent show performance on Arab Star Academy.
Haifa, who is 38 years old, appeared on a live episode, flaunting a tight-fitting black dress with revealing sheer panels.
More than two million people watched the seductive performance and many women took to social media to criticize Wehbe for her racy choice of outfit.
Most of the negative reactions on social media came from women in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
“They think if women dress this way it would misrepresent our culture,” said Dana Khairallah, a Lebanese lifestyle blogger, in an interview with BBC. “I find that hypocritical. I see Arab girls dressing more provocatively in clubs but no one cares because there are no cameras.”
The Egyptian channel CBC, which airs the Star Academy TV show, issued an apology on its channel for the star’s appearance on the show.
Wehbe herself blamed the stage lighting in a tweet, saying the original dress appeared more modest but that she “was surprised that it looked very different with the strong lighting on the stage.”
WATCH the performance:
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