Posted: August 12, 2009, 5 a.m. EDT
The daughter of Egypt’s assassinated president Anwar Sadat has sued the makers of “I Love You, Man” for naming a dog in the film after her late father, The Associated Press reports.
In the movie, actor Jason Segel’s character owns a dog he named Anwar Sadat because the pooch supposedly resembles the former leader, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who ruled Egypt from 1970 until his assassination in 1981.
“This is a disaster, a serious affront,” said Samir Sabri, the lawyer for Rokaya Sadat, daughter of the former president, in Egyptian court papers.
Muslims consider dogs unclean and calling someone a dog in the Middle East is a serious insult.
The comedy opened in Egypt last month, but the scene with the dog had been removed by the distributor. Word of the scene came to light last week after an Egyptian website wrote about the deleted scene.
“This has caused serious psychological and moral damages to the plaintiff, as President Sadat is a prominent figure in the Arab history in general and in Egyptian history in particular,” the lawyer’s brief said. “Everyone agrees that he is a unique leader who was politically savvy, and has worked hard to serve his country.”
Egypt’s prosecutor will look into the complaint Sept. 1.