'Don’t be critical': Paulo Coelho defends Maryam Nawaz as she mispronounces his name

Renowned novelist Paulo Coelho, best known for his worldwide best-selling novel The Alchemist, has urged social media users to stop bashing PMLN leader Maryam Nawaz over mispronouncing his name in an interview.

Maryam Nawaz became the latest victim of the ‘slip of the tongue’ incident and ended up grabbing international attention. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice-President in a recent interview mispronounced the name of the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho as ‘Paulo Coedo’.

“Like there’s Paulo Coedo, he’s a Brazilian author, whom I read with much joy. [He’s] written [The] Alchemist and Warrior of Light,” Maryam said. This did not go unnoticed on social media and people starting bashing her.

That’s when Paulo Coelho himself defended her and shut down critics by tweeting, “I make mistakes very often in pronunciation of foreign names, so don’t be critical.”

I make mistakes very often in pronunciation of foreign names, so don’t be critical https://t.co/FbbHXHdTqh

— Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) March 10, 2023