Singer Haifa Wehbe offends with 'Nubian monkeys' lyric

Wehbe, considered one of the world's most beautiful women and a huge star in the Middle East, has apologised to Egypt's Nubian community for any offence she may have caused with the lyrics of her song Where is Daddy?

She said she had no idea of the racial connotations and that the songwriter had told her that the term was a reference to a game played by children.

In the song, a child sings to the star: "Where is my teddy bear and the Nubian monkey?"

Members of Egypt's black ethnic minority have expressed outrage at what they claim is a racial slur. A Nubian cafe owner told the Guardian that the song had "denigrated" his whole community.

Wehbe, 35, now faces demands for the record to be banned after a complaint to the public prosecutor's office in Cairo by a group of Nubian lawyers.

She is already a controversial figure, provoking both admiration and condemnation for her daring outfits.