Maha El Sagheer Claims Danish Artist's Painting as Her Own, Sparking Controversy Lise-Lotte Nielsen: "This is shocking""Mona El Shazly: "We respect true creators

Egyptian media figure Maha El Sagheer is facing major backlash after being accused of falsely claiming ownership of an artwork that was not created by her. The piece was showcased as one of her own creations during her appearance on a program hosted by Mona El Shazly, sparking widespread debate across artistic circles and social media platforms.

The Beginning of the Controversy

The issue began when Maha El Sagheer appeared on a recent episode of the show, where she spoke about her passion for painting and presented several artworks, which she claimed were her original creations. The pieces were well-received by the audience, particularly one that appeared to convey powerful messages about women’s freedom and struggles.

“I Made Myself Wings”

What started as artistic praise soon turned into an unexpected crisis for El Sagheer, ex-wife of actor Ahmed El Sakka. Danish visual artist Lise-Lotte Lassen Nielsen—also known as Lisa Lash Nielsen—watched the episode and was stunned to see that one of the paintings shown as El Sagheer’s work was actually hers. The artwork, titled “I Made Myself Wings”, was painted by Nielsen in 2019.

The Danish artist attempted to contact El Sagheer and the production team of the program but received no response. She then issued a public statement via her Instagram account, saying:

“It’s amazing to see your artwork featured on a big screen in a TV show in Egypt—a country of 140 million people—but it would have been much more impactful if the artist’s name was actually mentioned. Unfortunately, Maha El Sagheer claimed the painting ‘I Made Myself Wings’ as her own, despite the fact that I painted it in 2019.”

She added:

“It didn’t stop at simply claiming the work—she even photographed the original painting and publicly presented it as her own… That’s truly shocking.”

Intellectual Property Violation

Nielsen went on to say that her painting was displayed alongside works by three other artists during the same episode, which, in her view, elevated the matter from an individual mistake to a clear violation of intellectual property rights. She reiterated that her attempts to clarify the situation with the show’s team went unanswered.

Mona El Shazly Responds

In the first official media response, host Mona El Shazly posted an image of the controversial artwork on her Instagram account, confirming that it was indeed created by Lisa Lash Nielsen, not Maha El Sagheer as previously suggested.

El Shazly wrote in the caption:

“The painting is the work of Danish artist Lisa Lash Nielsen. We respect genuine creatives and value original artistic contributions in all fields.”

Calls for Artistic Integrity

El Shazly’s clarification was viewed as a formal correction of the misinformation. Meanwhile, many viewers and online followers have called for greater respect for artists’ rights, especially in widely viewed programs. There were also growing demands for stricter vetting and attribution processes to ensure intellectual property is protected across all creative platforms.