Wafah Dufour, niece of Osama Bin Laden, the man believed to be behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks and many others around the globe, has been signed to create and star in her own reality show. The series, produced by publishing mogul Judith Regan, will follow Dufour as she attempts to fulfill her dream of music stardom. Dufour began singing at age three and says she is influenced by U2, Depeche Mode, Sade, John Mayer, The Cure, and The Cranberries.
Dufour is the daughter of Osama Bin Laden's half-brother Yeslem. Her mother, Carmen Dufour Bin Ladin, hails from Switzerland and authored the book Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia, which told of her difficulties being married to an Islamic fundamentalist.
Even though Wafah spells her name Bin Ladin, not Bin Laden, it is similar enough to her infamous uncles name that people immediately associate her with terrorism. Dufour hopes to address this issue and show the world she is her own woman.
"I understand that when people hear my last name, they have preconceived notions, but I was born an American and I love my country," Dufour said in a statement from ReganMedia.
Recently, the Columbia Law School graduate appeared in a sexy photo shoot for the January issue of men's magazine GQ, and in the accompanying interview she also addressed her family name.
"It's really tough that I have to always explain myself," Dufour told the magazine. "It's like every time I meet someone, I have to move a huge mountain that's in front of me, and sometimes I get tired."
Dufour recently dropped the Bin Ladin, and now goes by Wafah Dufour.
The reality show will be produced by ReganMedia, a division of HarperCollins run by Judith Regan. Regan started out as a reporter for The National Enquirer and eventually moved on to publishing. Her ReganBooks has published autobiographies of Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, and Jose Canseco. She has also produced the reality shows Growing Up Gotti and Jenna Jameson's Confessions and has appeared as a judge on the reality makeover show The Swan.
In the statement, Regan said, "Wafah is a beautiful and talented singer who--like so many 20-somethings--has a dream to make it in the music business."
While Regan purports that Wafah is a "pop-rock singer and musician," industry insiders are questioning the veracity of that statement. Publishing industry Website The Book Standard quoted a music industry source as saying that he's never heard of Wafah Dufour and that "the only reason anyone is doing a reality show on her is because she's Bin Laden's niece."
Reps at ReganMedia said it was too early to say which network might be interested in the show.
Comments (19)
I'm practically speechless, my jaw is on the floor!
This is obviously a twisted idea from J.R because of who this person is related to. Granted, the girl shouldn't be judged because of who her relatives are (let's take a look at our own), but I'm actually afraid FOR her. JR & Co. better make sure this girl has a rock-solid security team. This has potential to get nasty.
The whole thing just makes me sick on so many levels.
she wanted to seperate herself from her family and now she's making money because of it!
I don't like her. Everybody has been saying how hot she is. She looks like a man. A very unattractive man.
this is crazy!! i agree with MAFfilms13, J.R. and her team are really sad. they don't give a sh*t about that girl's dreams and talents, they just thinks that that's good tv. WRONG!! the big attraction is her name and not her life-long goals. i'm not impressed, more like ashamed at the thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bin ladan is cool
Thats SICK .
One show I won't be watching. I give it two weeks if that
Yeah, archangelcory16, we can't all be as holy and as noble and as perfect as you are. GMAFB!
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I wonder how long it'll take til she is crammed down our throats via MTV/MuchMusic. Thankfully I don't have cable nor do I listen to the radio so I won't have to tolerate this ugly cow at all. <br />
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And is it just me, or does she look like the terrorist mother from last season on 24. You know the one that was there at the start of the season.
There's definitely something wrong with television if someone thought this was a good idea...
If anything this is a great shot at biladen! His niece supporting america!
Why shouldn't she be allowed to do this? This is america after all? Lets just wait and see if they use 9/11 in this show at all, they may not. If they do I will be the FIRST to say something, but if they don't I won't say a word. She shouldn't be held back and hated because of who she is related to.
archangelcory16, the point is that TV Execs are exploting the events of 9/11 to try and make a reality show. If this girls uncle was Abdul Shmo we would never hear of her. Because her uncle is the face behind 9/11 they are going to try and make her a star, and that's disgusting.
*YOU* people are the ones who suck. You're only giving that reaction because of what you think about her relative. You should be ashamed.
WTF!?!?!?
What is wrong with this country?!
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Absolutly disgusting! The TV execs have sunk to a new all-time low this time.
Yeah this is going to suck noodles.
Yeah, this will really work. I hope to hell Judith Regan is using birth control. I'd hate to see her reproduce.