Viacom CEO Bob Bakish has joined the growing exodus of media companies, personalities and executives from a high-profile conference in Saudi Arabia, in response to the disappearance of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
Bakish was set to participate in a panel discussion of globalization and technology in the entertainment business during the Future Investment Initiative, which will be held Oct. 23-25 in Riyadh. He has now dropped out, TheWrap has learned.
Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and critic of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, went missing Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Top Turkish security officials have since contended that Khashoggi was assassinated on orders from the highest levels of the royal court. The Saudi government maintains that he left the consulate soon after he arrived and is not in their custody.
Backish is only the latest to abandon the conference amid worldwide outrage over Khashoggi’s disappearance and alleged murder. New York Times columnist and CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin announced his withdrawal on Thursday, as did The Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes. LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong also withdrew from the event Thursday, and on Wednesday The New York Times announced it would no longer be a media partner with the event.
Also Thursday, WME told TheWrap it is “assessing” its relationship to the Saudi crown. Earlier this year, The Public Investment Fund — the kingdom’s major sovereign wealth vehicle — struck a deal with WME to buy a stake of less than 10 percent in the talent agency and media company for at least $400 million. Khashoggi ‘s disappearance has cast a shadow on that deal, and could put WME at odds with other clients, which include prominent journalists who are covering the story.
Trey Williams and Jeremy Fuster contributed to this report.
11 Accounts of Overt Racism From 'Day 1 in Trump's America' (Photos)
A Twitter moment titled "Day 1 in Trump's America" slates itself as a collection of tweets about "racist episodes POC [people of color] are facing now that Trump is our President-elect." Here are some of those stories.
These are unfiltered stories people shared, not confirmed by law enforcement or TheWrap. (One false report on Wednesday hurt everyone by giving ammunition to people inclined to deny all accounts of racist attacks.)
Content warning: These are not fun stories, and some contain racial slurs.
"I have a scarf on. Passed by someone on the platform today and he says, 'Your time's up, girlie.'" - Mehreen Kasana
Twitter
"Today, I was harassed by an older white man who presumed I was Mexican. 'I can't wait until Trump asks us to rape your people and send you back over the biggest damn wall we're going to build. Go back to hell, wet back.' After saying all of that, he threw the water in his cup in my face, gave me the middle finger, and ran off. It took every fiber of my being to hold my tongue and not chase him down. I'm in tears right now. I've never been terrified of being a woman and a minority until today." - Rhio Oracion
Facebook
"I WAS finally coming to grips with the stupidity of America. But then some off the wall stuff happened that pissed me right back off. So I am downtown and a group of white dudes are looking at a woman wearing a dress standing alone minding her business. We all get on the subway. When she walks past the group, one of the men yells grab her by the pussy. One of the dudes literally then tried to touch the woman inappropriately. The woman yelled and the guys laughed. A group of people and I literally threw the 3 dudes off the subway at the Wood Street. America is really thinking this shit is a joke." - Antwan Legacy Carter
Facebook
"Black lives don't matter and neither does your votes," was seen spray painted in Durham, NC.
Twitter
Chris Weatherd found his car vandalized with racial epithets. See the full video here.
Twitter
A woman walked into her dorm room to find that her roommate had built a makeshift "wall" to separate their two sides. There was a note that read "Hey Maria, Trump won so... here's a little preview of what's to come."
Twitter
"Can't wait until your 'marriage' is overturned by a real president. Gay families = burn in hell. Trump 2016," photo tweeted by Shaun King.
Twitter
"Went for a run this morning at 7a. I've been trying to figure out how I feel. CHILDREN high school age screamed at me and told me to go back to AFRICA. CHILDREN people! I'm not throwing a temper tantrum you don't know how it feels to be me if you don't GET how enraged and sad I am right now," tweeted by the woman's friend.
Twitter
A woman recounts her story of being harassed at a gas station by four white men. One walked over to her and asked: "How scared are you, you black b----? I should just kill you right now, you're a waste of air," and another guy flashed his firearm at her.
A man was followed into a 7-11 by a group of white men asking if he spoke English. They told him "chinks should get out of the country," harassed the 7-Eleven clerk and yelled "white power" on their way out.
"My first racist encounter after our new joke of a president, as I am at Walmart today a woman came up to me and pulled my hijab of [sic] and said 'this is not allowed anymore, so go hang yourself with it around your neck not on your head.' I am traumatized." - Maha Abdul Gawad
Facebook
1 of 12
One woman said she had her hijab pulled off and a black man posted a picture of his car covered with racial slurs
A Twitter moment titled "Day 1 in Trump's America" slates itself as a collection of tweets about "racist episodes POC [people of color] are facing now that Trump is our President-elect." Here are some of those stories.
These are unfiltered stories people shared, not confirmed by law enforcement or TheWrap. (One false report on Wednesday hurt everyone by giving ammunition to people inclined to deny all accounts of racist attacks.)
Content warning: These are not fun stories, and some contain racial slurs.
Twitter
