The growing controversy surrounding WWE’s upcoming Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia following the disappearance and presumed killing of reporter Jamal Khashoggi hasn’t gone away, and is only intensifying.
Now, per a report from IJR, United States senators are urging WWE to “pause” the event, and are suggesting that the President, WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump, should possibly “prevail upon them not doing it.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told IJR, “There should be a pause … I want a complete rethinking of our relationship.”
From Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut:
“This is a brazen assault on the freedom of the press and a slap in the face to the United States, if this murder occurred as it seems it did, I’d hope that they would be rethinking their relationship with the kingdom especially with respect to events coming up in the next weeks like [WWE Crown Jewel].”
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) added the following:
“Private enterprise is private enterprise, different than a governmental entity, but because [Linda McMahon] is part of the president’s cabinet, it falls into the grey area where the administration really should give it some thought and maybe even prevail upon them not doing it.”
President Trump previously suggested that the amount of money Saudi Arabia brings into our country would make taking action against them “unacceptable.” WWE previously ran a show in Saudi Arabia back in April. At the time, Triple H noted, “I understand that people are questioning it, but you have to understand that every culture is different and just because you don’t agree with a certain aspect of it, it doesn’t mean it’s not a relevant culture.”
