Iraqi actress sues The Economist over ‘fat’ photo

Enas Taleb accuses the British newspaper of causing her ‘serious harm’

Enas Taleb performs at the Babylon International Festival on 28 October, 2021. (AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi actress and chat show host Enas Taleb is suing The Economist for using a picture of her in an article about “fat” women in the Middle East.

The piece, which some readers claimed was “racist” and “sexist”, was published in late July under the headline “Why women in the Middle East are fatter than men”.

It argued that female obesity rates are high in the region because of societal pressures which keep women at home and make it more difficult for them to exercise outdoors.

The story also suggested that beauty standards also played a role. “Iraqis often cite Enas Taleb, an actress with ample curves, as the ideal of beauty,” it said, alongside a picture of the celebrity at last year’s Babylon Festival.

In a video Ms Taleb shared on Instagram on Wednesday, her lawyer Samantha Kane confirmed that she had launched a defamation case against the newspaper on her client’s behalf.

Ms Kane said the Iraqi chat show host sought an apology, claiming that the publication of the photograph had caused “serious harm” to her and her career.

The 42-year-old actress first told the magazine New Lines of her plans to sue The Economist over her inclusion in the article, which she claimed was an insult to all Arab women.

“I am demanding compensation for the emotional, mental and social damage this incident has caused me. My legal team and I are arranging the next steps,” she said.

“I am healthy and happy with the way I look, and to me that is all that matters,” she added.

Ms Taleb, who first appeared on Iraqi TV in 1996, also told al-Arabiya TV that the newspaper had made a critical mistake in mentioning her in the piece.

"They did not know that I’m a celebrity and a public figure," she said. "I can turn crises into gains."

The Economist has also been criticised for recently publishing a graphic of a male Saudi headdress with a black cord which resembled a stick of lit dynamite.

The Independent has approached The Economist for comment.