The young actor, RJ Mitt, known for his character Walter White Jr. in the famous television series “Breaking Bad,” has died at the age of 34, according to what his representatives reported to “Agence France-Presse,” on Monday.
The cause of death of the actor, who suffered from cerebral palsy, was not immediately revealed.
A statement issued by Sean Reilly, the late artist’s representative, said: “It is with great sadness that we share the tragic passing of the beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate advocate for disability rights, RJ Mitt.”
Mitt was still a teenager when he first appeared in the series “Breaking Bad” in 2008, portraying the character of Walter White Jr., the son of chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin Walter White, a role that earned actor Bryan Cranston international fame.
Reilly said: “Mitt was inspired by his personal experience living with cerebral palsy, which gave credibility to his performance of the character, and enabled him to build a platform to raise awareness of disability issues and promote inclusion.”
Riley added that this charitable activity later developed into his work as an ambassador for the United Cerebral Palsy Association and for the non-profit children's hospital network, Shriners Children.
Riley added: “He also assumed the presidency of the Met Foundation, where he supported charitable efforts and community initiatives, utilizing his platform to challenge stereotypes and promote greater representation of people with disabilities.”
The “Breaking Bad” series, which ran for five seasons between 2008 and 2013, is considered one of the most influential and critically praised television works, and the New York Times chose it as the best television series of the twenty-first century.
The crises of “festival performers” have returned to the forefront in Egypt again after artist Mustafa Kamel, the head of the Musicians Syndicate, announced the suspension of festival performer Issam Sassa from work for a period of 6 months, through a “live broadcast” by the Musicians Syndicate on his personal account on Facebook on Sunday, bringing him together with members of the union council, against the backdrop of Sassa’s appearance in a video on TikTok that was widely circulated over the past few days, carrying an abnormal cigarette according to “social” comments. She thought it contained narcotic substances, in addition to summoning singer Omar Kamal for interrogation after he repeated singing the phrase “I drink liquor and hashish” despite his signing a union declaration not to repeat it again.
The name Issam Sasa topped the search indicators on Google in Egypt on Monday after the “Musicians” issued its decisions, and according to what the “Captain of the Musicians” said, the circulating video of the “permit holder,” Issam Sasa, proved that he departed from professional norms and appeared inappropriately, and put himself under suspicion, despite the precedent of him and all the permit holders signing official declarations and pledges not to engage in such behavior.
In the same “live broadcast,” Mustafa Kamel confirmed that the “permit holder” of the Vocal Performance Division, Omar Kamal, had been summoned for immediate investigation after he repeated the phrase “I drink liquor and hashish,” which he presented in the duet “The Neighbor’s Girl” with Hassan Shakoush years ago, during a concert a few days ago, despite his signing a statement stating that it would not be repeated again, at the time the late artist Hani Shaker took over the Musicians Syndicate.
Mustafa Kamel stressed his rejection of these behaviors and transgressions, pointing out that the phenomenon of “mahraganat songs” has become extinct by 90 percent, and that the current control over the singing scene is by the singing stars who represent Egypt in various artistic events and international forums, according to his speech.
Regarding his general opinion on the behavior of some festival performers in Egypt, Egyptian musician Mounir Al-Wasimi, former head of the Musicians Syndicate, said: “Nothing is correct except what is correct, and membership is supposed to be canceled or the permit suspended permanently in the event of performing dishonorable acts, or deviating from public order, and violating societal values and customs,” adding to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the appearance of celebrities in front of people through social networking sites must be consistent with people’s natural behaviors.”
He continued, "The artist is required to preserve the values of society and act rationally, and not deviate from the norm by repeating controversial and controversial terms, especially since he has an audience from several groups who follow him, and the impact of these terms will be negative on them."
Commenting on the news of his suspension, Issam Sasa expressed, via his Facebook account, his respect and appreciation for the union’s decisions, adding: “Every decision has its respect and every stage has its lessons, and I hope that the coming period will be full of goodness. Thank you to our fans for the love, continued support and trust.”
Before the decision to suspend Issam Sasa and summon Omar Kamal, some festival performers in Egypt were subjected to suspension for certain periods due to statements and behavior that the union considered inappropriate and incorrect, including Hassan Shakoush, Reda El-Bahrawy, Hamo Beka, and Muslim.
In addition, the artist Mustafa Kamel explained that his union decisions came from the inherent role of “musicians” to follow up and evaluate the behavior of members and permit holders, and in order to control artistic performance and adherence to societal and professional values, in accordance with Law 85 of 1978 regarding the establishment of unions, the Federation of Syndicates of Acting and Musical Professions, and in accordance with Article 61 of the union law, which stipulates that the member must adhere in his professional and personal behavior to the principles of honor and honesty. Integrity, and commitment to professional ethics and traditions.
Egyptian artist Mai Kassab has returned to the spotlight on social networking sites, after followers of the graphics printed on a “T-shirt” she wore during an appearance on an online program.
The look sparked criticism from people who saw the drawings as inappropriate, so part of the discussion about her appearance turned to her clothes, and she found herself faced with comments that prompted her to present her story about choosing clothes and wearing them in front of the camera.
Although she discussed many situations in her life during the meeting, the pictures of the “T-shirt” spread outside the context of the dialogue, and became the subject of comments that addressed the nature of the drawings and the extent of her knowledge of them, especially since the meeting included talk about her regret over some of her previous clothing choices.
Kassab said, in the video that she posted on her official Facebook account, that one of her friends encouraged her to respond and explain what happened herself, stressing that she is not usually busy commenting on everything that is raised around her on social networking sites, but this time she decided to explain the situation, after criticism extended to the look she chose without realizing the details that stopped the audience and raised their objections.
The artist attributed wearing the “T-shirt” to her belief that the design printed on it belonged to a cartoon character, saying that she thought it was “SpongeBob.” She did not examine the drawings in a way that would reveal their content to her, and if she had paid attention to them, she would not have worn it in the first place.
Kassab thanked the followers who thought well of her, and assumed that she wore it without knowing the nature of his drawings, stressing that the content of her speech during the meeting makes it difficult to imagine that she deliberately appeared in clothes that she found inappropriate, as she was recalling human experiences, and talking about religious and personal matters, and she would not have accepted this appearance if she had realized what sparked criticism in it.
During the episode, May Kassab recalled a period in which she was seeking a wider space of freedom in choosing her clothes, after she felt upset by the restrictions imposed by her mother, explaining that the desire to transcend those restrictions led her to make choices that she looks at today with some regret, after her vision of what suits her changed, and she became more inclined to review what she wore in light of her upbringing and current convictions.
Among the situations that remained in her memory, she talked about a dress that she appeared in at the wedding of one of her friends from the artistic community, and that her friends had prepared for her as a surprise, stressing that she felt uncomfortable with it, and still regrets wearing it, recalling the incident as an example of choices that she agreed to at the time, and then discovered later that she was not expressing them.
Art critic Muhammad Abdel Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat that the situation reflects a common mistake between Mai Kassab and the program team. Checking the appearance before filming was enough to avoid the controversy that accompanied her appearance, indicating that the responsibility does not fall on the artist alone, as those in charge of the interview could have drawn her attention to the drawings, giving her an opportunity to change her clothes before recording the episode.
Abdul Rahman added, “The situation reveals Kassab’s spontaneity, as she does not appear to be one of the artists busy reviewing every detail in their looks, which explains her lack of attention to the content of the drawings,” considering that the speed of her apology supports her good intentions, and reflects her eagerness to correct the mistake and explain its circumstances to the public, after she realized that what she thought was a cartoon contained details that she did not intend to appear.
An opinion supported by art critic Ahmed Saad El-Din, who confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the artist, as a public figure, bears some responsibility for the details of his appearance before the public, including the words and drawings on his clothes,” explaining that “some artists do not possess extensive cultural knowledge that allows them to understand the connotations of foreign expressions.”
Saad El-Din added, “Social media sites contribute to exaggerating such incidents, as details of the appearance are circulated, and discussion around it expands, until it becomes the focus of interest in the entire appearance,” pointing out that the artist’s lack of knowledge of the meaning of a word does not completely absolve him of responsibility.
