TV Host Amany El Khayat Investigated Over 'Insulting Oman'

Amany al-Khayat, host of the ONTV show Been Al-Sotor (Between The Lines), has been referred to investigation by Egypt's Media Syndicate on charges of 'insulting the Sultanate of Oman' in a recent episode. The anchorwoman went on a brief tirade against the Sultanate, referring to it as a "small,insignificant, princedom" likened to 19th century English colonies in India. This was during Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi's official visit to Oman.

The TV host's remarks on the gulf Sultanate caused waves of outrage among Omani citizens, who took to various social media platforms to voice their anger and concerns, further calling for immediate legal action to be taken against El Khayat. She later made a public apology to the Sultanate and its citizens, "The Sultanate of Oman is an important country in the Arab Peninsula, being the third largest in landmass and a massive nation with ancient historic ties to Egypt." Said Khayat on Been Al-Sotor.

This is not  Khayat’s first run-in with controversy; having previously gone on to insult both Morocco and its king in 2014, accusing King Mohammed VI of dealing with Islamists in 2011 during the outbreak of the Arab Spring revolts. In addition to claiming that the backbone of the North African Kingdom's economy is entirely based on prostitution, El Khayat further directed her audience search the internet for the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Morocco. Her statements rapidly went viral on social media, causing massive backlash, prompting ONTV’s owner, Egyptian billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris, to apologize to the litany of messages he had received over the matter, and to conduct a thorough investigation himself.