Peter FitzSimons could have been paid as much as $100,000 by UberEats, a firm founded with Saudi investment, as the commentator continues to cop flack for saying an Australian golfer had accepted ‘blood money’ from the oil rich kingdom.
FitzSimons appeared in ads for Uber’s food delivery service, which counts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman as a early major investor, back in 2018.
For his efforts he could have been paid as much as $100,000, according to ad industry insiders.
This is certainly a far cry from the average wage of an Uber Eats driver of around $30 an hour, which was noted by those accusing FitzSimons of being a ‘champagne socialist’, someone who espouses leftist beliefs while living a lifestyle.
Business dealings linked to Saudi Arabia have became a hotly debated issue after FitzSimons slammed Australian golfer Cam Smith for signing to a tour backed by the repressive Middle-East nation.
Peter FitzSimons recently appeared in an advertising campaign for the food delivery app Uber Eats (pictured in Welch’s tweet) of which Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is a major investor
In a column for the Sydney Morning Herald FitzSimons accused Smith of helping to ‘sportswash’ Saudi Arabia’s unsavory reputation by signing to the breakaway LIV tour for an eye-watering sum, which has been reported as $140million.
‘Seriously, what does LIV bring to the table in this war, bar blood money?, he wrote.
‘And yes, $130million is a hard thing for anyone to refuse. For that amount, you could probably make yourself believe – or at least say – anything.’
However, Fitzsimons was blindsided in a Twitter crash tackle from NRL Melbourne Storm star Christian Welch, who pointed out Uber Eats parent company was largely started with by Saudi funds.
Christian Welch, here seen with mum Lyn at the 2021 NRL Dally M Awards, plays for the Melbourne Storm but also a degree in commerce and is pursuing a MBA
‘It’s okay for you to profit (albeit indirectly) from the Saudi investment fund but not a golfer?’ Welch shared on Twitter.
‘Same money funding LIV invested in Uber, Boeing & Starbucks. Are you complicit when you get a ride home or a cappuccino? How far does it go? I don’t recall the same outrage at those companies, but dare a golfer accept the cash on offer.’
This has ignited a keen debate about the ethics of dealing with the Saudis directly or indirectly.
NRL star Christian Welch has continued to point out that Uber has been heavily backed by Saudi money
The chief sparring contest has been between Welch, who has a Bachelor of Commerce and is completing his MBA, and Nine reporter Mark Gottlieb.
Gottlieb earned the praise of FitzSimons for tweeting that Welch’s point was ‘like saying you can’t criticise America’s war in Afghanistan because you bought McDonalds for lunch’.
Cam Smith’s shift to LIV Golf is reportedly worth $140million and FitzSimons has been vocal that Smith (pictured) should not have sold out
Fitzsimons called this argument ‘brilliant’.
Gottlieb went on to further draw a distinction between the actions of Smith and FitzSimons.
‘At the risk of drawing the ire of a thousand weekend golfers there’s a big difference between being unable to avoid your money going to or coming from the Saudis and jumping directly in bed with them. It’s a very false equivalence,’ he tweeted.
However, Welch fired back.
Nine reporter Mark Gottlieb has claimed there is a difference between the actions of golfer Cam Smith signing with the breakaway Saudi-backed tour and FitzSimons appearing in the advertising campaign
‘Uber actively pursued Saudi funding when they were private mate, years before IPO in 2019,’ he tweeted.
‘The company wasn’t trading publicly. No outrage then that’s my point..I suspect it’s more to do with the PGA monopoly being threatened.’
Gottlieb stuck to his guns.
‘There was plenty of criticism in tech and business circles but of course, businesses don’t ignite the same sort of passions as sport does,’ he tweeted.
It’s not just accepting Saudi money that opens FitzSimons to accusations of hypocrisy, according to some Twitter users
‘That’s why no one goes to Wall St wearing their favourite Lehman Brothers Jersey and they don’t buy trading cards of CEOs.’
‘LIV is a super complicated issue and if someone offered me a 1000% raise it’d be pretty hard to turn down too. I don’t agree with Smith’s decision but I understand it. But saying ‘you use things in the world that the Saudis are also involved in’ is a huge oversimplification.’
Other sports journalists have joined the fray.
‘I wrote the story with Cam immediately after the announcement,’ tweeted golf reporter Evin Priest.
Other sports journos have been weighing into the debate about the morality of Smith’s and FitzSimons’ actions
‘His desire to live in Australia for several months a year is a genuine main reason for signing. Outrage over Saudi funding is totally understandable. But Christian is right to ask why it’s amplified now.’
Veteran sports journo Anthony Sharwood also weighed in.
‘Good point, Evin, which I’ve not heard,’ he tweeted.
‘I detest both Saudi money and the PGA stranglehold on the game! My natural instinct is to arc up at the Norman/Saudi alliance which is a bit like a collusion between Darth Vader & Dr Evil but as CW points out, Saudi money is everywhere.’
Others thought FitzSimons, who is a well known advocate for left-leaning causes, should not be taking cash from the gig economy pin-up of venture capitalism Uber.
The rideshare company has faced accusations of underpaying drivers in Australia, in the US and the UK.
Advertising expert Adam Ferrier says those who endorse products must do their homework to ensure they share the same values
‘What about being a performative champagne socialist but taking money directly from a company that has been at the absolute forefront of underpaying workers across the globe??’ one Twitter user wrote.
‘Where does that sit on the equivalence scale?? Or does the “performative” excuse him?’
Adam Ferrier, who is the founder of advertising and PR agency Thinkerbell said he was finding the fallout over FitzSimons’ original article ‘fascinating’.
‘I think what Peter FitzSimons has done is ultimately pretty good,’ he said.
‘It’s good to go out there on a limb and flush out the discussion.’
I think it’s great for analysts to out the relationship between Saudi Arabia and business interests.
Peter FitzSimons (right with wife Lisa Wilkinson) slammed the LIV golf league as ‘blood money’ in a recent column
‘The discussion is a good one because you have more people being more informed of the sponsorships they take.
‘The net result though is to question their own relationship with who they do business with and put it under more scrutiny.’
Mr Ferrier said for those who worked with brands they had to be aware of all the background.
‘I think if you are taking money to endorse something you just have to in all instances do your homework and make sure that you stand for the values of the brand that you’re endorsing,’ he said.
‘It’s fine as well for people to point out the complexity of the issue as well.’
LIV, which is a rival tour to the PGA, has come under fire since its inception with critics claiming Saudi Arabia is using golf to ‘sportswash’ its appalling human rights record.
The oil-rich dictatorship routinely executes domestic dissidents and remains one of the most repressive places on earth for woman and the LGBTQI community.
In 2018, a 15-man hit squad sent on the orders of Prince Bin Salman carried out the horrific murder and torture of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on the grounds of the Saudi Consulate in Turkey.
Keen to revamp its image, Saudi Arabia has funded the LIV Golf Invitational Series to the tune of $3billion with another $2.9billion to fund events in 2023 and 2024.
The golf league is spearheaded by Australian former world No. 1 Greg Norman.
Twitter users applauded Welch for calling out FitzSimons over his ‘double standard’.
‘Christian Welch defeats the Bogan Yuppie by a knockout in Round 2,’ one user joked.
Another said: ‘Imagine how much Fitzw***er will be hating on RL after this take down by the peoples’ prop. Not sure he can hate on it much more though.’
‘Getting taken down by a rugby league player! Oh this is glorious,’ a third wrote.
FitzSimons, who is married to Project host Lisa Wilkinson, is high-profile controversy magnet.
He was recently involved in a bitter public spat with Aboriginal senator Jacinta Price over another newspaper column he wrote.
The former Wallaby and alumni of Knox Grammar and Sydney University was accused of bullying her over her position on the proposed Voice to Parliament referendum.
Ms Price went public saying she felt FitzSimons ‘imposed’ his view on her during an interview about the merits and faults of the contentious vote which would see the creation of a body dedicated to providing advice to the parliament on issues affecting Indigenous Australians – which critics have claimed would essentially be a third chamber of parliament.
FitzSimons is strongly in favour of the Voice to Parliament while Senator Price is vehemently opposed, believing it will not do anything to help improve the lives of Indigenous people.
In a Facebook post after the article was published, Senator Price alleged FitzSimons ‘accused me of giving racists a voice but that wasn’t printed’ and later told media he was ‘aggressive’ and ‘rude’ and shouted at her.
FitzSimons strongly denied her claims – as did his boss, who tweeted that he had listened to the interview – with FitzSimons sending her a text message asking her to remove the Facebook post, which she did.
The beginning of the explosive text message exchange between Peter FitzSimons (words in grey) and Jacinta Price (words in blue)
Jacinta Price and Peter FitzSimons both furiously claimed they had witnesses to their phone call in a heated text exchange (pictured) after she accused him of being ‘aggressive’
The full text exchange between the pair shows they both claimed to have witnesses to the phone call as they argued over what happened.
‘Senator, I urge you to withdraw these defamatory accusations, as you know it is nonsense,’ FitzSimons wrote.
Senator Price hit back: ‘We did yell at each other. I’d like a copy of the interview… you did accuse me of empowering racists.’
FitzSimons insisted there was ‘not a single raised voice on either side’ but she replied: ‘I recall I had to yell, as did my chief of staff who was present while you were on speaker.’
Jacinta Price (pictured), a first term NT Senator, is against an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and changing the date of Australia Day from January 26
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