Hilarious Habibis are championing Arab comedy in the US
Hilarious Habibis, one of the first stand-up comedy platforms to be founded and presented by Middle Eastern women in the
US, aims to give Arab comedians a leg up in the competitive stand-up scene.
Founded by Lynn Maleh and Gena B. Jones, the group aims to create a community and an opportunity for Arab audiences and presenters to engage with, and create, comedic content.
“It gives a chance for maybe a middle-experienced comedian to * headline for a change or a smaller comedian who doesn't get to do shows at the Hollywood Improv to do a club for a change. So we just get them to level up on our show,” said writer and comedian Maleh.
Since 2016, Hilarious Habibis has grown from a small community of friends at the Hollywood Improv into a bona fide stand-up showcase. The group has performed at festivals including the New York Comedy Festival, SF SketchFest, and the Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival.
“You know, a lot of people, more than ever, right now are looking for Arab representation, Arab comedy. We think our show is really relevant to the world right now and what they want to see,” said Jones.
“We always have a good chunk of non-Arabs, other people of color who are not Arab, who come to see the show, who really love it. And it's cool that there's different parts of the community who really want to see Arab comedy,” she added.
Hilarious Habibis has also hosted major comedians like Bassem Yousef and Maz Jobrani, as well as Egyptian comedian Salma Hindy, who is set to join the voice cast of Ramy Youssef 's upcoming Amazon animated show, “#1 Happy Family USA.” “I think building community, especially among Arabs in the West, is extremely important during this time and period, and especially in an industry where we're extremely underrepresented … it's very important for Arabs to rise up, make it known that we're Arab, take up space, reclaim our stories and our identities and not apologize for being who we are,” Hindy said.