A Kuwaiti influencer chef, Ahmad Al-Zamel, faced extreme backlash when he posted controversial comments regarding Palestine that sparked outrage.

This comes in the midst of Operation Aqsa Typhoon which started on Saturday, Oct. 7. As many influencers used their platforms to voice their support to either the Palestinian cause or the Israeli Occupation, Zamel chose to stay silent and carry on with his usual food content.

This caused his followers on Instagram to criticize him, with one writing, “You’re also in a parallel universe? How’s the weather like over there?”

Zamel replied to her with, “I’m in a parallel universe? I’m in Kuwait, the country in which you’re living. Leave this parallel universe and go back to the real world; your country, if you don’t like my parallel universe.”

One of his followers wrote, “Unfollow” followed by flags of Palestine, to which the influencer chef replied, “Yes please, I want my account to be rid of you guys, I don’t want you.”

His comments sparked outrage with people demanding empathy and solidarity during this ongoing crisis.

Many said that social media plays a vital role in spreading information and creating awareness about the suffering of Palestinians, and influencers are said to be held accountable for their statements and actions.

Hours later, Zamel posted a statement on his Instagram account.

The statement reads as followed:

"We begin by affirming our personal stance and the unwavering position of our country, Kuwait, in supporting our brothers and sisters in Palestine. We consistently denounce and reject the Israeli Occupation's aggression against Palestinian territories and the Palestinian people.

Regarding some offensive comments made in response to my private messages and unwarranted aggressive comments that targeted me, my family, and my country due to not posting any content related to our brothers and sisters in Palestine on my cooking-focused personal account, which is entirely unrelated to any other content, we would like to offer our apologies for any misunderstandings that may have arisen.

We call on everyone to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine."