Celebrities and social media influencers are facing fierce backlash for attending a music festival in Saudi Arabia – as some accused them of being ‘shameless’ and accepting six-figure sums to help rehabilitate the country’s image.
A bevy of stars have been slammed for inundating social media with photos of themselves attending the MDL Beast music festival in Riyadh over the weekend without mentioning Saudi Arabia’s controversial human rights record.
The likes of Sofia Richie, Winnie Harlow, Alessandra Ambrosio, Joan Smalls, Irina Shayk, Stella Maxwell, Luka Sabbat, Armie Hammer and Ryan Phillippe all shared multiple photos in recent days that were tagged in Riyadh.
Critics called out the tone-deaf nature of such an event in Saudi Arabia and cited last year’s slaying of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the arrest of women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul.
Celebrities and social media influencers are facing fierce backlash for attending a music festival in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. Actor Armie Hammer is pictured above attending the festival
The celebrities have been accused of being ‘shameless’ and accepting six-figure sums to help rehabilitate Saudi Arabia’s image. Pictured is Irina Shayk, Stella Maxwell and Joan Smalls at the festival
Fashion industry watchdog and popular Instagram account, Diet Prada, named and shamed some of the celebrities present, accusing them of allegedly accepting six-figure sums for attending and geo-tagging posts to ‘rehabilitate the image of Saudi Arabia’.
Among the blast of glossy social media posts was one from actor Armie Hammer who wrote that attending the music festival and seeing Saudi men and women excited about it ‘felt like a cultural shift’ and ‘truly special’.
The condemnation was swift with high-profile journalist Yashar Ali tweeting: ‘Hope it was worth it @armiehammer. Did you find Jamal Khashoggi’s body while you were there?’
The backlash regarding their visit came as Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death over the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.
Karen Attiah, a Washington Post reporter who was friends with Khashoggi, was among those critical of the influencer turnout, as well as Conde Nast publication Glamour UK who had a sponsored campaign from the festival.
‘The social changes in Saudi Arabia are indeed remarkable. Jamal khashoggi was supportive of the changes. Until regime agents killed him,’ she tweeted.
‘Now the regime has been working overtime and spending billions to try to rehabilitate its image, partly by using western influencers.
‘The dark side of influencer culture is that it really is the ultimate expression of capitalism. Money over human lives. What good is your platform if you overlook Saudi regime’s murder and torture for a few bucks? These influencers are just for-hire human billboards.
‘These influencers and media outlets (too many to tag) who use their platforms to claim they are for women’s empowerment and social justice — but yet also take money to promote Saudi Arabia.. Insta-hypocrites. It’s all so transparent and gross.’
The entertainment authority that licensed MDL Beast said some people had been compensated for promoting the event, but denied such high sums were paid to individuals.
Olivia Culpo geo-tagged her location and said she was grateful for the warm welcome she received in Saudi Arabia
Irina Shayk shared multiple images of her hanging out with Stella McCartney at the festival
Backlash: Many in attendance have faced some backlash on social media from fans calling out the tone-deaf nature of such an event in Saudi Arabia
Star-studded event: Said attendees included the likes of Sofia Richie, Winnie Harlow, Alessandra Ambrosio, Joan Smalls, Irina Shayk, Luka Sabbat, Armie Hammer and Ryan Phillippe
Model Emily Ratajkowski revealed that she turned down a paid appearance to attend the festival because she was uncomfortable with the country’s human rights record.
‘It is very important to me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community, freedom of expression and the right to a free press,’ she said of turning down the paid gig.
‘I hope coming forward on this brings more attention to the injustices happening there.’
Earlier this year, hip-hop star Nicki Minaj pulled out of performing in the kingdom over concerns about women’s rights, gay rights and freedom of expression.
‘After careful reflection I have decided to no longer move forward with my scheduled concert at Jeddah World Fest,’ she said in a statement.
‘While I want nothing more than to bring my show to fans in Saudi Arabia, after better educating myself on the issues, I believe it is important for me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression.’
Armie Hammer wrote on social media that attending the music festival and seeing Saudi men and women excited about it ‘felt like a cultural shift’ and ‘truly special’
Model Halima Aden was pictured attending what appeared to be an organized event during the festival
Sofia Richie, Mohammed Al Turki and Joan Smalls attend the MDL Beast Festival in Saudi Arabia
Ryan Phillippe (left) and Wilmer Valderrama and Amanda Pacheco (right) were also pictured attending the festival. They also shared photos on social media of themselves touring the country
The music festival was aimed at polishing Saudi Arabia’s image abroad and appealing to the young.
It is a staggering pivot from just three years ago, when religious police would storm restaurants playing music and harass women in malls for showing their face or wearing red nail polish.
Now, the kingdom has movie theaters and concerts.
Women are allowed to drive and travel without male permission and they can sit with men at restaurants.
The kingdom began issuing tourist visas this year and female visitors are not required to wear the conservative black-flowing robe known as the abaya and headscarves in public.
While the social changes ushered in by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have been sweeping, so too is his crackdown on criticism and political expression.
Alessandra Ambrosio was pictured posing at the music festival on Friday in Saudi Arabai
Nadine Leopold and Elsa Hosk cozied up as they posed for the cameras at the MDL Beast Festival
The prince has overseen the country’s war in Yemen, which has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and the arrest of women’s rights activists, clerics and writers.
He has also drawn international condemnation for the killing of Saudi writer and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Khashoggi was slaughtered by Saudi agents inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year.
Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced five people to death and three more to jail over Khashoggi’s murder last year and said the killing was not premeditated – a verdict criticized by a U.N. investigator as a ‘mockery’ of justice.
Khashoggi was a U.S. resident and critic of the prince. He was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Octover 2, 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his impending wedding.
His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found.
Khashoggi’s murder caused a global uproar, tarnishing the crown prince’s image. The CIA and some Western governments have said they believe Prince Mohammed, also known as MbS, ordered the killing.
Saudi officials say he had no role.