Former Celebrity Apprentice host Mark Bouris mocks Covid-19 lockdowns, praises Rashays’ Rami Ykmour

Mark Bouris has savaged government handling of lockdowns as ‘bull***’ during an interview with a fiery Australian restaurant owner who revealed the real story behind his high-profile Covid arrest.

On his podcast The Mentor, the Former Celebrity Apprentice host and businessman praised Rashays founder Rami Ykmour for his anti-lockdown stance, which culminated in the restaurateur’s arrest in his Chester Hill office on July 8, 2021.

Mr Ykmour operated throughout the pandemic and was involved in a heated confrontation with over a dozen police officers during a compliance check, when he was charged for not wearing a mask.

Bouris said the fact Mr Ykmour’s defiance would be ‘ok by today’s standards’ showed that lockdown restrictions were ‘bulls***’ (Pictured, Bouris with Celebrity Apprentice advisors Kerri-Anne Kennerley [L] and Shelley Barrett [R])

The successful Lebanese-Australian restauranteur said on the podcast that he was determined to show ‘a fighting spirit’ when police arrived to check if his staff were wearing masks at work.

‘No-one was gonna walk into my office and tell me what was happening, mate, even the prime minister couldn’t come down and tell me what to do that day, so I stood up,’ Mr Ykmour said.

‘I stood up for my staff, I stood up for myself, I guess [the police] didn’t believe how much I would stand up for myself, they were in shock.’

Mr Ykmour operated throughout the pandemic and was involved in a heated confrontation with over a dozen police officers during a compliance check when he was charged for not wearing a mask

Mr Ykmour is pictured during a confrontation with NSW police officers after a Covid compliance check of his business in September 2021 

During the episode, Bouris said the fact Mr Ykmour’s defiance would be ‘ok by today’s standards’ showed that lockdown restrictions were ‘bulls***’.

‘It’s funny in hindsight when you think back, it’s all bulls*** because now more people are getting Covid than ever before and no-one gives a s***, you don’t have to wear masks, there’s no rules,’ Bouris said.

‘Unless you go into hospital or something you don’t have to wear masks, it’s such a lot of bulls***.’

Mr Ykmour said he was not an anti-vaxxer and claimed he and his family were all vaccinated

Facemasks are still mandatory for millions of Australians on trains, buses and ferries and in taxis.

Bouris quizzed Mr Ykmour over whether his defiant social media posts about the pandemic were ‘opportunistic’ and designed to help Rashays’ brand.

‘100 per cent, of course,’ Mr Ykmour admitted, but added he believed deeply that governments were ‘out of touch’ with the public.

Mr Ykmour said he was not an anti-vaxxer and claimed he and his family were all vaccinated.

He explained that he didn’t accept governments introducing rules to prevent the spread of the virus and was in favour of personal responsibility for health.

‘I don’t care what the doctor says, what the government says, I don’t care what anyone says, no-one’s gonna care more about Rami than Rami himself, you know what I mean.’

But he said government restrictions caused so much ‘suffering’ in the community – especially mental health impacts – that he felt a responsibility to speak out on behalf of others.

‘I don’t care what doctors say’: Mr Ykmour explained that he didn’t accept governments introducing rules to prevent the spread of the virus and was in favour of personal responsibility for health

Mr Ykmour continued to operate during the pandemic and said he felt responsibility for his staff’s mental health

He did so in person and on his social media channels.

‘I felt like it was my duty, it fell on my shoulders to let governments know, “listen guys, we need to wake up, yes this is a pandemic, yes there’s a flu out there, but people are suffering in so many other ways”, so I went out there and I was all gung ho.’

Mr Ykmour said he believed lockdowns showed governments were ‘out of touch with people’.

‘I don’t think they understood what everyone was actually feeling, how disconnected people were actually feeling from each other.

‘I honestly thought there was no connection between what was really happening in the real world and what government were thinking.’