Laughter, tears, emotion and confidences. This October 13, Frédéric Lopez unveils on France 2 a new episode of A Sunday in the Country. For this new issue, Anne Sila, Chris Marques and Nawell Madani spoke about their childhood, their dreams and their journeys. Installed in the barn with the singer and the Dancing with the Stars jury, the 44-year-old comedian spoke about the drama experienced at just two and a half. “It was a day when my mother was there but there were a lot of guests. I start dancing on the table and I lose my balance, I catch myself on the fryer and she falls on me. I got a third degree burn.”she remembers.
A professional nurse, her professional mother reacted quickly: “She made the first move, she immediately put me in the bathroom and emptied everything that was in the fridge, the bottles of milk to refresh the skin straight away”. Following the accident, young Nawell’s life changed radically. “We didn’t know to what extent I was affected, if there was a risk of losing my sight, because my whole face was burned and I lost part of my hair”she clarified.
“I went from butthead to Elephant man”
This episode not only left visible physical marks, but it also affected family dynamics. “It turned my life and that of my family upside down. My parents almost divorced after this event and I spent my childhood wearing caps and beanies, and I didn’t have many friends, confides the mother of Lou Ezra (2 years old). All the activities, the swimming pool… It was an ordeal, I said to myself: ‘Are we going to see or not?’ I was made fun of, they called me ‘butthead’, they called me ‘Kojak’ and my sisters were my bodyguards. As soon as they saw me crying, they went into a fight.”. Following this accident, Nawell Madani underwent several operations: “I also went to school with a slightly deformed head. I went from butthead to Elephant man. It was hard.”
To deal with the teasing, the young girl develops her sense of repartee: “In the playground, I understood that there were lots of people who had faults and that you just had to sting where it hurt. My mother told me: ‘Attack before we get you.’ attack. Strike first. An ordeal that the comedian says he experienced as an injustice: “Why me? Why? And then, I didn’t think I was beautiful. I have dark skin, in Brussels, the fashion was for blondes with blue eyes. My elbows and knees were darker than the others. I remember that I rubbed my knees hard with the sanding stone so that my knees were clear. For me, I had accumulated defects.. Thanks to dance, Nawell Madani frees himself: “I arrived in the playground and I trained on purpose so that people would look at me. And that’s it, I had become a coach. Dancing with the stars, that was me,” slips the actress with humor. I find my place, I start dancing, I transmit.”
