Malala Yousafzai appeared on Shehzad Roy's podcast Laga Reh this week, where Roy pressed her on her involvement in a Broadway production and her association with former US (United States) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a known supporter of Israel.

 

Roy asked the Nobel laureate directly why she felt the need to be involved in a Broadway production with Hillary Clinton and why she was taking photos with her, pointing out that Clinton has been a long standing supporter of Israel, at a time when the whole world was against her. "What was the need for you to do this," Roy asked. 

 

Malala pushed back on parts of the question right away. "Some of what you said is incorrect. First, I want to clarify that I never took a photo with Hillary. People often combine separate photos and present them as if we were together. That is not true. At the premiere, I wore a ceasefire pin to express solidarity with Palestinians, but that photo was not circulated," she told Roy.

 

On her executive producer credit for the Broadway production, she said the title did not mean she was hands on with the project. "It is more like being an ambassador supporting the work. There were many executive producers, and I did not know all of them initially," she noted.

 

The clip drew sharp reactions online. Many praised Roy for the line of questioning. "Shahzad Roy you nailed it," one user wrote. Another said "At least someone dared to question her" while a third added "At least he is asking the right questions."

 

But not everyone was satisfied with Malala's answers. One user pointed out that taking on an executive producer title without knowing who the other producers were did not add up. 

 

The commenter did not find that sufficient. "She is attaching her name to a Broadway production and she did not ask questions like who are the other producers? A solidarity pin cannot make up for that," they wrote.

 

One user questioned how she could take on an executive producer title without knowing who the other producers were. Malala had said earlier in the podcast that she wore a ceasefire pin at the Broadway premiere to show solidarity with Palestinians, but noted that the photo with the pin was never circulated and went unnoticed. 

 

Another called her responses "mental gymnastics". 

 

Others questioned the credibility of the whole thing. "Just want to know how many times they practiced this before recording," one comment read.

 

There were also those who gave Roy credit. "Shehzad is setting the bar high for hosting,” and others argued that, “her stance regarding the genocide in Gaza was quite murky from the start," one viewer wrote.

Another said "The whole point of interviewing her is to question her credibility and stance. Do I think Roy did a good job? Absolutely yes."

 

One user compared her to Imran Khan, calling her the female version of him, while another suggested that she is out of touch with ground realities. 

One viewer called her intelligent but said that did not change the fact that her answers on Gaza fell flat.