Artists make up after social media spat

AMMAN — Comedian and actress Amal Dabbas decided over the weekend to drop charges against actor Jamil Awwad following intervention from deputies and dignitaries.

Dabbas was reported to have filed a defamation and slander lawsuit against actor Awwad, alleging that he “tarnished her honour and reputation on social media”.

Meanwhile, Awwad, 85, reportedly wrote on Tuesday on his Facebook page that “the police will soon come and arrest me over a lawsuit filed by Dabbas against me as stipulated in the Cyber Crime law, although I suffer from difficult health conditions”.

On Friday, several deputies, ministers and other dignitaries hosted the pair at a deputy’s home and settled the problem between them, according to a statement by the Jordanian Artists Association (JAA).

Dabbas pledged to drop the charges against him on Sunday when the courts open for work, wishing him speedy recovery, according to the JAA statement.

As a result of Awwad’s initial move to file a lawsuit, hundreds of social media users posted comments calling on Dabbas to drop charges against Awwad, who is a well-known Jordanian actor,  “because he was extremely sick”.

The comments and pleas from several decision-makers and artists who sympathised with Awwad prompted the actress to issue a statement to explain her position last week.

Dabbas said she had to file a lawsuit against Awwad because “he posted on his Facebook page that I am a supporter of the Israeli occupation and used terminology that tarnished my honour”.

“I did not want to file a lawsuit against a colleague of mine, but what he said really tarnished my honour and reputation and he has no right to do so,” Dabbas was quoted as saying in her statement.

Later in the day, Awwad apologised to Dabbas in a post on his Facebook profile, stating: “Ms Amal Dabbas, please be assured that I did not mean to offend your honour in the post I published. Your honour is preserved.”

Awwad, who was travelling, conveyed through friends another apology to Dabbas, stressing his utmost respect for her.

Dabbas originally came to fame through a series of dramatic works presented with well-known actors Nabil Sawalha and Hisham Yanis, who staged hilarious yet daring plays about social and political issues in Jordan and the Middle East during the 1990s.

 Awwad is considered one of the most famous actors in Jordan, having performed in many television series, including “The Hard Decision”, “Nimr Bin Udwan” and “Al Taghreba Al Falastenya”.