Lebanese politician Walid Beik Jumblatt, the president of the Progressive Socialist Party and head of the Druze community, is known for his interesting and controversial personality, his funny tweets, his bluntness in politics, and his unconditional love for his dog, Oscar, which he isn’t shy at all to express on social media.
Now, we are no strangers to the wonders of Lebanese politicians. The things they say and do have been the content of a lot of jokes and memes over the years.
And just when you think you’ve seen it all, something even more astonishing comes up, whether recent or old… Like the time Walid Jumblatt appeared in the Playboy magazine.
This politician was interviewed in the magazine’s 1984 issue. He also made it to the cover with the following line: “EXCLUSIVE: Playboy interviews Lebanon’s warlord Walid Jumblatt,” right under “BO DEREK X-RATED: She’s hotter than ever.”
In fact, there’s one copy being sold on Amazon where the seller made it a point to inform potential buyers that the issue contains: “Bo Derek (Naked); Walid Jumblatt (Not Naked).”
Jumblatt discussed Beirut, civil strife, reincarnation, the meaning of power, and classic 1980’s soap “Dallas” in his interview with Playboy. Also, note that this interview was done during the Lebanese Civil War.
It’s a long, long talk about Lebanon, war, history, religion, his time in the United States, his thoughts about the U.S. and the Americans, and so on.
On a funny note, it appears that Jumblatt was afraid to take the subway in New York, which stunned the interviewer who said: “Let’s see if we got this right. The most ferocious warlord of the Middle East was afraid to travel in the New York City subway?”
“I wouldn’t dare go. No way,” Jumblatt retorted.
At a certain point during the interview, Jumblatt actually called his community his tribe, saying: “I am concerned about my tribe and my children…”
And when Playboy asked the politician to give his assessment at the end of the interview, he answered: “What will happen will just be. But let’s have dinner first.”
A lot of jokes have been made about this unusual appearance of a Lebanese politician as the interview resurfaced throughout the years; jokes that probably only Lebanese people could understand.
However, many real issues and informative ideas were brought up during the talk. It is actually a good source to get a deeper insight into Lebanon during the civil war from the perspective of one of its main leaders.
Full Interview:
