Dubai TV cancels pop songstress’s reality show for her ‘arrogance’

Government-owned channel Dubai TV said on Thursday that it had cancelled a show for an Emirati singer after “popular requests from viewers,” and critics slammed the artist’s “arrogance.”

Known by her stage name Ahlam, the singer appears as an empress sitting on a throne with her fans desperately competing to impress her throughout the 12 stages in her reality TV show “The Queen” with the finalist winner receiving her ornate ring at the end.

In the first episode of “The Queen,” Ahlam is seen asking participants – who hail from different parts of the Arab world – how much they love her and if they are capable to implement and execute everything she asks them to do.

On social media, some users unleashed hashtags calling for the “The Queen” to be dethroned and for the show to be canceled.

Soon after the launch of her show, Ahlam told Al Arabiya News Channel in an interview that “of course, I am arrogant” after answering a question over her exaggerated arrogance in “The Queen.”

“There is nothing new that I am arrogant,” she said, citing one incident of one fan collapsing after a heart attack when he saw her during the casting of “Arab Idol” reality TV show where she was one of the judges.

However, Ahlam reduced ton of her comment when she explained that some people might see her as arrogant, while others “see me as a very kind person, humane person… at the end I am just a human.”

She added: “God blessed me and some people call me a queen, and I don’t like to be named as the queen and my name is Ahlam.”

Ahlam has long been known for making faux pas remarks. In “Arab Idol,” Lebanese superstar Ragheb Alama said he left as one of the judges because of Ahlam’s tackiness.