7 talking points from Bassem Youssef and Piers Morgan's second interview

Bassem Youssef returned to Piers Morgan's Uncensored after shedding his candid thoughts on the Israel-Hamas war earlier this month.

Morgan flew to Los Angeles for a two-hour sit-down with his most-watched guest, which saw Youssef using satirical humour to highlight the importance of fair representation in the media when reporting on the catastrophe.

On 7 October, Hamas launched an unexpected attack on Southern Israel that killed 1,405 people, with the group taking a further 220 hostages. At the time of writing, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 8,700 with a further 22,000 injured.

Youssef, an Egyptian heart surgeon turned comedian, aimed to have a "deep calm conversation about a very complicated issue," and has received praise online for his delivery.

Since being shared on YouTube, it has been viewed 2.5 million times in 10 hours, at the time of writing.

Piers Morgan vs Bassem Youssef Round 2 | Two-Hour Special Interviewwww.youtube.com

"I can’t even imagine the immense pressure you must have been under after your first interview," one person wrote. "You were absolutely brilliant again."

Another added: "The calmness in this one is even more powerful. Well done."

"It is about time we had a raw and real interview like this," a third commented. "This goes down as one the best interviews of all time."

During the interview, Youssef noted that their second discussion could be a "bookmark" for looking at the conflict in a "deeper way that nobody has done before."

Youssef acknowledged he is the "least qualified" for such conversations but it is an opportunity to use his platform. Morgan surprisingly agreed that, he too, is not "massively well-qualified [himself]."

"Look at us, two privileged people, one white, one 'wannabe white', discussing the most complex conflict of our history," Youssef jokingly responded.

Here are 6 talking points from the much anticipated round two:

'Condemnation is completely useless'

Morgan said he finds it "much harder to respect a pro-Palestinian guest on his show" if they "simply resolutely refuse to say" they condemn Hamas.

Youssef, who previously confirmed he condemns the group, said he finds condemnation "useless" as it immediately shuts down a difficult conversation that needs to be had.

He used a hypothetical example, saying: "I condemn Hamas, you condemn Israel. Interview over. What happened? Nothing."

Youssef added: "It's just morality checkpoints."

Morgan felt 'unusually uncomfortable' in last interview

Morgan said Youssef's delivery in the initial interview used "savagely dark humour," while speaking about his wife.

At the time, Youssef satirically said: "[The Palestinians] are very difficult to kill, very difficult people to kill. I know, because I’m married to one. I tried many times. I try to get to her every time, but she uses our kids as human shields."

During Wednesday's (1 November) discussion, Morgan admitted he did not find it easy to listen or react to.

"This time, I'm ready for you," Morgan shared. "Last time, I was very taken aback. I remember thinking as you were doing this, feeling very uncomfortable, unusually uncomfortable, and thinking I didn't know how to react."

"I didn't know whether I was supposed to laugh, or be silent," he continued. "I sort of ended up slightly grimacing, half laugh and listening."

Morgan went on to note that the initial remarks were incredibly powerful and effective, to which Youssef said all he did was take a talking point from the media and exaggerate it.

Acknowledging the 'very dangerous' rise of antisemitism

Youssef highlighted the rise in antisemitism, which he called "very dangerous" and an "important issue" to address.

"As a Muslim, who has been through events where there were terrorist attacks somewhere, and that reflects on us, I completely feel that," he said.

On McDonald's giving free meals to Israel Defence Forces (IDF)

Youssef used satire to touch on McDonald's Israel donating meals to defence forces.

"McDonald's are giving free meals to the Israelis. Because nothing will make you feel better after killing a bunch of Palestinian kids than a Happy Meal," he said.

It comes after social media users called to boycott the fast food chain with a combined total of 30.5 million views under the hashtag '#BoycottMcDonalds'.

A 'whole culture is being cancelled'

Youssef opened up about the history of Palestine, before and during the 1948 Nakba, which saw the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians.

Morgan, who has previously been vocal about his 'anti cancel culture' stance, was then candidly told by Youssef: "You are someone who has always spoken against cancel culture. Right now, a whole culture is cancelled."

Questions around journalist integrity

"For me, as a viewer, if a conflict that has been there for 75 years and the media with all this technology has been covering it, and we hear 'we don't know what's happening, it's complicated, it's very complex' – that is a failure of the media apparatus," Youssef told Morgan. "That is the failure to themselves and for the audience, because why every time something happens, it seems like it is happening from point zero?"

Later in the chat, Youssef asked a question about credibility when journalists are given information by authorities whom he accused of having a "long history of lying."

He asked: "As a journalist, wouldn't you take anything that an authority would say with a grain of salt?"

Morgan's resurfaced tweet

The British journalist turned attention to his 2014 tweet, which read: 'At what point does Israel's current military strategy become the very terrorism it professes to be fighting?'

Youssef then directed his attention to the "Western audience" who may have not been exposed to horrific pieces of footage that reportedly show people rejoicing over the death of Palestinians.

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