WWE issued the following statement to the New York Post over growing concerns over talent traveling to Saudi Arabia for WWE Crown Jewel next month:
“As always, we maintain an open line of communication with our performers as we continue to monitor the situation”
There have been many reports over the past few days about talent concern over traveling to Saudi Arabia following the disappearance and alleged murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Sports Illustrated‘s Justin Barrasso has reported multiple members of the WWE roster have shared concerns over the idea of performing in Saudi Arabia, and noted the nation’s poor human rights record.
The Independent Journal Review also spoke with a number of people in Congress who shared concerns over the planned event, with Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy saying he hopes WWE “would be rethinking their relationship with the kingdom especially with respect to events coming up in the next weeks like [WWE Crown Jewel].”
WWE previously issued a statement saying they were ‘monitoring the situation’ in regards to the current issues in Saudi Arabia.
WWE Crown Jewel is still scheduled to take place on Friday, November 2nd at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. WWE is still advertising the event as taking place, but did not mention ‘Saudi Arabia’ or the venue on last night’s episode of RAW. It was noted during an in-arena promo last night that the event starts at noon EST, and tickets are scheduled to go on sale this Friday.
