Mai Kassab responds to criticism of the “T-shirt”: “It didn’t cross my mind and I thought it was SpongeBob.”

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Egyptian artist Mai Kassab responded to the criticism she was subjected to after she appeared wearing a T-shirt bearing drawings that some followers considered inappropriate, during her hosting of the “Mirror” program presented by the journalist Khaled Farag, stressing that she did not pay attention to the nature of the drawings on her clothes before appearing in them.

Mai Kassab published a video clip on her official Facebook page today, Monday, during which she explained that she did not intend to respond to what was raised on social media, but she decided to clarify her position after advice from one of her friends.

The Egyptian artist said that she thanks the people who thought well of her, and assumed that she had not seen the drawings on the T-shirt, stressing that if she had paid attention to them, she would not have worn it.

She added that she thought the T-shirt had a drawing of the character “SpongeBob,” explaining that she did not know the name of the real cartoon character on it, and did not pay attention to the nature of the drawings that sparked controversy.

Mai Kassab indicated that the nature of the dialogue that took place between her and the presenter of the program dealt with religious and humanitarian topics and personal wishes, adding that she believed that the presenter would have alerted her to the drawings if he had noticed them during filming.

She concluded her comment by thanking those who assumed her good intentions, saying that those who assumed bad intentions towards her “may God forgive them.”

During the same meeting, Mai Kassab spoke about some of her previous clothing choices, expressing her remorse for a period in her life during which she tended to wear clothes that she now sees as not compatible with her principles and upbringing.

She explained that the restrictions imposed by her mother on her clothing at an earlier stage led her to want to wear whatever she wanted, before her view of some of her choices changed over time.

The incident re-shed light on the artist's statements about clothes and her personal convictions, coinciding with the circulation of photos of her recent appearance and a clip of her response on social media.