Soundos El Ahmadi Sparks Outrage in Flanders Over Dries Van Langenhove Miscarriage Joke
Dutch comedian Soundos El Ahmadi has drawn sharp criticism across Flanders and the Netherlands following a theatrical routine in which she compared right-wing Belgian politician Dries Van Langenhove to a miscarriage. During her two-hour stand-up tour, the 44-year-old performer described an eight-week miscarriage she personally experienced before delivering the punchline to her audience, as reported by RTL Boulevard.
The controversial fragment features El Ahmadi telling the theater crowd that many people do not realize that if a miscarriage falls into a toilet bowl, one needs to flush. She then states: And if you don’t flush, such a miscarriage can keep living. And that is how Dries Van Langenhove was born. Sorry about that!
according to Weekend Online. Van Langenhove is a former independent nationalist member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the founder of the nationalist youth movement Schild en Vrienden, noted Weekend Online.
El Ahmadi’s popularity among our southern neighbors has suffered a major blow, having previously won over Flemish audiences through her appearance in De Slimste Mens, as noted by Mediacourant. The video clip of the routine has since been viewed 160,000 times, accompanied by hundreds of online reactions, according to Weekend Online.
Belgian Viewers Condemn Joke on Social Media
Reactions to the joke split the theater room immediately. Online viewers in Belgium expressed strong condemnation on platform X, with one user writing that the bit was a scandalous display that deserved a lawsuit, as detailed by RTL Boulevard. Another user complained on X: What have you thrown into us in Flanders now from Netherlands? (…) You undoubtedly have better export products,
while an angry internet user labeled the performer an arrogant Dutchman
and wrote: Hopefully you get to come and explain this before the court in Belgium!
as reported by RTL Boulevard and Weekend Online.
Soundos El Ahmadi onder vuur na miskraamgrap over Dries Van Langenhove👇https://t.co/oFSQqKdP3k
The audience reaction during the show itself was visibly shocked and divided, prompting El Ahmadi to address the room directly by telling them that a third applauded while two-thirds voted far-right, adding: If you don’t laugh, you must be far-right,
and telling non-laughing attendees: I think it’s fine, give me your money and go home!
The footage was shared online by figures including Elbertus van Lagen, who wrote: Soundos in Flanders.
How terrible.
Sorry Belgians,
and Bob Dijkgraaf, son of Jan Dijkgraaf, who criticized the comedian for assuming that anyone failing to applaud must hold extreme-right views rather than simply finding the material unfunny, per Skoften. Other social media users echoed the condemnation, with one writing: Tasteless, more tasteless, Soundos,
as noted by Skoften.
Commentators and television panelists weighed in on the controversy during Dutch talk shows. At the table of Renze Klamer on RTL, broadcast discussions captured widespread disapproval. Former television host Jan de Hoop called the comparison completely tasteless,
questioning if anyone found the subject matter acceptable, while journalist Jermaine Ellenkamp expressed shock at using a miscarriage as punchline material, according to Mediacourant. Ellenkamp remarked that he initially expected a heavy story rather than a joke built around such a topic, while De Hoop stressed that the grief experienced during a failed birth makes such humor entirely inappropriate, per Mediacourant.
Not all panelists shared the outrage. Columnist Yesim Candan defended the comedian, arguing that comedians frequently push boundaries under freedom of speech just like cartoonists, and noted that she attended the show and enjoyed the entire performance. American politics expert Tom van ‘t Einde stated that while the joke was not his humor and he found it tasteless, he did not want to silence El Ahmadi, emphasizing that such material should be permitted. Host Renze Klamer drew a parallel to British comedian Ricky Gervais, who maintains that humor needs no boundaries and that a stage permits insulting anyone and anything, summarizing that a comedian may tell a coarse joke while the public retains the right to despise it, according to Mediacourant.
Radio Intervew and Refusal to Apologize
Following the online uproar, radio host Giel Beelen contacted El Ahmadi on his show to ask about the controversial routine. The comedian declined to defend or explain the segment, stating to RTL Boulevard: I am not going to talk about this. I am never in my life going to explain a joke, so we’re just nicely not going to do that.
El Ahmadi emphasized that the bit belonged inside a much longer performance, noting that isolating a single joke strips away its context, per RTL Boulevard.
When Beelen asked whether she felt any regret, El Ahmadi maintained that she stood by the material entirely. I am still proud of those jokes anyway. It is the best joke I have ever made,
she told the radio host, adding that the bit had already earned her awards and that she considered the matter closed, as reported by Weekend Online. Beelen ended the interview by responding understandingly with I get you,
without pushing her further, per RTL Boulevard and Weekend Online.
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