Saudi superstar Amy Roko – the niqab wearing comedian and rapper – has been dropped from season 2 of Dubai Bling.
The 29-year-old Saudi, who has never publicly revealed her name or face – was secretly lined up as a new cast member for Season 2 of the Netflix hit show, for which filming recently began. Sources say that Roko was told she would be part of a “dating” storyline, which she was uncomfortable participating in.
“The next day she got an email saying that Netflix didn’t feel she was the right fit for the storyboard so they wouldn’t be continuing with her,” says a source.
Netflix who declined to comment when we reached out to them.
Roko has become a social media sensation with over 1.6 million followers on Instagram. She first started performing comedy sketches on Vine in 2015. In 2019 she quit her job to work in social media full time and has since worked with huge brands including Levis.
In a recent interview with Cosmopolitan Middle East, she said: “When I was in eighth grade, I told my mum I wanted to go on TV. She called up the station and told them her amazing, super funny daughter wanted to join one of their segments, but eventually when they found out that I cover my face they straight up said no. He told my mum that pretty girls don’t cover-up, and she subsequently had to tell me that I couldn’t go on TV. Now I have amassed this huge social media following, it’s like a big F you to that producer.”
The first series of Dubai Bling – which claims to follow the lives of Dubai-based “millionaires”, became one of the most watched ever Netflix shows to be created in this region.
