The makers of I Love You, Man are being sued by the daughter of Egypt’s former president for naming a dog after him.

In the Dreamworks movie, Jason Segel’s character has a dog named Anwar Sadat, and when asked if it’s because he likes the former president’s policies, the character replies it is due to the dog’s resemblance to the Egyptian leader.

I Love You, Man has caused controversy by calling a dog Anwar Sadat

“This is a disaster, a serious affront,” said Samir Sabri, the lawyer for Rokaya Sadat, daughter of the former president and peace Nobel prize winner.




The name of the dog also appears in the credits as Anwar Sadat, playing himself, the dog.

The film, starring Segel and Paul Rudd and directed by John Hamburg, opened in Egypt last month, but the scene with the dog had earlier been excised by the distributor.

“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.”

Sabri said he has also filed a libel lawsuit against Egypt’s minister of information, demanding that copies of the movie be removed from the market, because it has “gravely tarnished the name and history of the leader…and symbol of the nation”.

Rokaya, Sadat’s daughter, was quoted in the newspaper al-Masry al-Youm on saying the Egyptian censorship authorities should be held responsible for allowing the movie to run in Egyptian cinemas.

The head of the censorship authority Ali Abou Shadi said the movie arrived in Egypt with the scenes about Sadat already removed.