LONDON: In a lethargic reading off a teleprompter, Lebanese President Michel Aoun mispronounced “lamentably” as “lemon doubly,” sparking ridicule from Lebanese people.
Aoun, already unpopular among most Lebanese citizens, was giving an opening speech on Wednesday, the anniversary of the Beirut Port blast, calling for humanitarian aid from the international community.
“For many months, the country has drowned in a political crisis in which, lemon doubly [sic], the details of cabinet formation prevail,” President Aoun declared.
While some Twitter users guessed that the words “lemon doubly” must be a poor pronunciation of “lamentably,” others insisted that the president meant to say “unfortunately.”
الاخ البرتقالي مصر انو الرئيس لفظها صح #lemondoubly
حدا يذكرنا شو قال هذا الاخ عن #النقابة_تنتفض يوم انتخابات نقابة المهندسين https://t.co/MOGICKx2BX pic.twitter.com/YSEvDaS2qh— Larissa Aoun (@LarissaAounSky) August 6, 2021
— Bassam Harfouche (@b_harfouche) August 5, 2021
As Lebanon continues to recover from the Beirut Port explosion and the economic crisis, the Lebanese people are attempting to find joy from all kinds of sources.
This time, it was delivered on a silver platter from their very own president.
3 Lemon doubly pls pic.twitter.com/EC9fnUOleQ
— HALIMA (@limaabdallah) August 5, 2021
I speak london very best with extra lemons!
— Ghida Arnaout, RDN (@MonkyseeMonkydo) August 5, 2021
Lebanese businesses, however, took advantage of the fast-spreading meme to make it a reality. Advertisements showcasing drinks and cocktails named Lemon Doubly are already appearing on Lebanon-related Instagram pages.
The speech was given during an international conference on Lebanon, which was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
The conference raised approximately $370 million in humanitarian aid for the shattered country, most of which was pledged by US President Joe Biden and Macron.
