Arab star slammed for risque gown

She has been known for wearing revealing outfits.

But Lebanese pop star Haifa Wehbe received widespread flak after she wore a figure-hugging black dress with revealing sheer panels during a talent show.

The 38-year-old wore the outfit during a live episode of Arab Star Academy, a pan-Arab TV music talent contest, reported MailOnline. The seductive performance was seen by more than two million online viewers and many took to social media to criticise Wehbe for her fashion choice.

Many of the negative comments were from women in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

LIMITS

One YouTube user wrote: "Art has limits and you, Haifa, have crossed the line."

An Egyptian woman tweeted: "It is true that we got used to her wearing scandalous clothes but not to this extent…it was a shock for the viewers."

Some even suggested that Wehbe should be reported to militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

A user uploaded an image of a man with a long beard holding a mobile phone with the caption "hello…ISIS!!", suggesting he was reporting the pop star to the terrorist group.

Egyptian channel CBC, which airs the Star Academy TV show, issued an apology on its channel for the star's appearance on the show. But Wehbe did have some supporters. A YouTube user wrote: "You should be used to the way she dresses by now. After all, everyone is free to dress as they wish".

Another netizen said: "She's not the first or the last to wear a revealing dress, and she looked beautiful in it".

Jordanian Sawsun Abu Omar compared the uproar to the reaction to the release of images of US celeb Kim Kardashian's bottom last week.

She tweeted: "After Kim Kardahsian's attempt to break the Internet, I find Haifa Wehbe's see-through dress on star academy to be quite modest."

The debate seems to indicate how polarised the debate on female dress in the Arab world has become, the BBC reported.

Wehbe herself tweeted that the original dress appeared more modest, and she "was surprised that it looked very different with the strong lighting on the stage".

This article was first published on Nov 22, 2014.
Get The New Paper for more stories.