Omar Borkan Al Gala, the man falsely rumored to have been deported from Saudi Arabia in April for “being too handsome”, is in Ho Chi Minh City, being invited here by a local magazine. However, the number of people who expressed their displeasure seems greater than that of his fans.

The power of Photoshop

In April, news saying Omar and two of his friends were expelled from Saudi Arabia “for being too good looking and acting as a potential distraction to women” in the country went viral. It made him a sensation as well as earned him over 1 million fans on Facebook.

Last month, Omar posted a picture of Hoi An’s ancient town at night with a status on his Facebook page saying: “Can you guess where this picture was photographed? I think it will be very interesting when I travel there next month”. After that, his Facebook page, which has 1.3 million likes, was filled with welcomes to Vietnam from local women, some of whom promised that he will not be deported again.

However, after Omar arrived in the city, many people expressed disappointment seeing his appearance not as gorgeous as his retouched pictures on the Internet.

“He doesn’t look like his pictures on the Internet. I guess many girls would be disappointed knowing this,” reader Khoa Le Phat commented on Tuoi Tre.

At the same time, news has also been spreading, claiming that the 25-year-old man has never been deported from Saudi Arabia for being too handsome at all. Omar himself later admitted with the Vietnamese press that he has never been expelled for being too handsome. He was just being complained for making his way to the family section of an event. Omar said the rumor is just a misunderstanding and he couldn't stop its spreading though he made an explanation to media months ago.

At an auction event on September 11, the Arab man managed to preserve his image by wearing a head scarf and looking quite handsome but still not as gorgeous as his Facebook photos.

However, the event was considered not very successful since almost all of Omar’s belongings were sold just a little bit higher than the starting price. Especially, the most important part of the event - a private dinner with Omar, which had a start price of VND20 million (US$943) - was bought by none other than Huyen Ny, emcee of the event, at a price US$50 higher.

Why was he invited here?

During the last days, on many forums, social networks and newswires, a lot of netizens have expressed a big question on why the Arab hottie was invited to Vietnam.

“I don’t know what kind of title this guy has that made him invited to Vietnam. Is it “handsome guy?” That’s hilarious!” reader Trieu Ngoc Diep told Tuoi Tre. “The story of Omar (I don’t want to call him “handsome guy” anymore) coming to Vietnam is not my expectation, to me, he has nothing special. I also have idols but they must have talents, and good personality. In my opinion, beauty is not from the outside but the inside.”

Some wonder what would Omar perform at the show titled “Ket Noi Uoc Mo” (Linking dreams) to be held at the Military Zone 7 Stadium on September 13, when none of his talent for entertainment has been confirmed.

“Who is he? What’s his job? I just know a little bit about his false deportation story. Why did we invite him here?” Thanh Van expressed. Do we need to spend a lot of money on this? He’s handsome, I admit, but it’s not for such idolization.”

Others even denied to call him handsome and stressed that it’s weird for him to be famous, since he’s not handsome and was not also deported for being “too handsome” as well.

“Shame on them, the fans, for hailing him as a hero. A video of them holding banners, giggling furtively or shouting his name out loud as the heartthrob passed by can be seen on the Internet. What? Didn’t they have something to do at home? Why did they greet him this way? What is Omar’s talent and accomplishment?,” Joe T. Pham, a Vietnamese-American living and working in Ho Chi Minh City wrote to Tuoitrenews.