Saudi General Sports Authority apologizes for 'indecent' WWE ad

[Big Red Machine]

Source: www.F4WOnline.com

By Joseph Currier | @josephcurrier | Apr 28, 2018 12:08 pm


The Saudi General Sports Authority has apologized for an advertisement that aired during the Greatest Royal Rumble, saying that it showed women's wrestlers in an "indecent" way.

The apology was issued through the Saudi General Sport's Authority's Twitter account, and Reddit user "comproimse" posted a rough translation of it:

"The General Sport Authority would like to apologize to the viewers and attendees of last night’s WWE event that took place in Jeddah, over the indecent scene involving women that appeared as an ad before a segment. It would like to confirm it's total disapproval of this, in the shadow of its commitment to eliminate anything that goes against the communities values.

"The authority has made sure to ban showing of any segment that involves women wrestling or any scenes related to it, and stipulated that to the company (WWE). The authority also disapproved any promotional stuff with pictures or videos showing women in an indecent way, and emphasized on commitment of this rule. And it’s a commitment that the authority would still commit to forever in all of it’s events and programs"

It appears that the advertisement in question was WWE's commercial about the company's switch to all dual-brand pay-per-views. It features men and women from Raw and SmackDown lip-syncing about the PPV change while in their wrestling gear.

The Associated Press has also picked up on the apology being issued.

Friday's Greatest Royal Rumble was the first event in WWE's 10-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority. Paul "Triple H" Levesque defended that partnership in an interview with The Independent ahead of the show, noting that they've had discussions about women not being able to wrestle in Saudi Arabia and WWE believes and hopes they'll be allowed to within the next few years.

[Big Red Machine]

I'm so happy this blew up in their faces in this manner:

1. This was an idiotic move on WWE's part in the first place because the money wasn't worth the charges of hypocrisy
2. They did it anyway, and took all of these pains to kowtow to the Saudis, but forgot to check their video packages.
3. This might not have even been a problem if they hadn't decided on this utterly idiotic marketing scheme to promote the dual-branded PPVs with a video package about wrestlers singing about how they are together.
4. This all happens in a way that makes Hunter's week's worth of spin look completely naive and idiotic.

They deserve this.

[cero2k]

Corey graves taking a shit storm right now

wwegravesA drink to remember that no matter how bad WE think we have it, at least our women have rights and we all have freedom of expression. #ifyougetityougetit

[Bob-O]

I don't understand the issue with all this. Are people mad because the women couldn't go, because Saudi culture is different, or that WWE is working with the different Saudi culture where women can't go...?

I mean, I think compromises should be expected given the extreme differences between the two, essentially the Saudi General Sports Authority is apologizing for bringing a pornography company into their country and letting a boob get past the censors. "You PROMISED we'd only be shown the PLOT without the FILTH..."

I figured, again given the extreme difference and risk of offending their own conservatives in this deal, there'd be a pretty strict review of anything being displayed by WWE that wasn't live prior to air. Don't bring a stray dog into your house and get pissed because it's still got mud on it's paws... but I suppose apologizing to your wife about the footprints makes sense.

That said, I don't live there, but I'll accept that there are cultures that are different than my own. I see what goes on and it does make me truly appreciate what we have here. I won't be watching any more of WWE's Saudi programming because I found the group in the white robes shuffling around the front row opposite the hard cam the entire show to be completely distracting and inappropriate. They would have been immediately reprimanded, removed, or relocated at a taping anywhere else in the world...

Not saying WWE shouldn't grow their business out there, again, I don't watch much soccer or tennis or stonings or whatever they do in their spare time to entertain large crowds, so maybe wearing blinding white and shuffling around in large groups while the entertainment is going on is normal over there - and that's ok, but it ruins it for me.

[Big Red Machine]

I don't understand the issue with all this. Are people mad because the women couldn't go, because Saudi culture is different, or that WWE is working with the different Saudi culture where women can't go...?

I mean, I think compromises should be expected given the extreme differences between the two, essentially the Saudi General Sports Authority is apologizing for bringing a pornography company into their country and letting a boob get past the censors. "You PROMISED we'd only be shown the PLOT without the FILTH..."

I figured, again given the extreme difference and risk of offending their own conservatives in this deal, there'd be a pretty strict review of anything being displayed by WWE that wasn't live prior to air. Don't bring a stray dog into your house and get pissed because it's still got mud on it's paws... but I suppose apologizing to your wife about the footprints makes sense.

That said, I don't live there, but I'll accept that there are cultures that are different than my own. I see what goes on and it does make me truly appreciate what we have here. I won't be watching any more of WWE's Saudi programming because I found the group in the white robes shuffling around the front row opposite the hard cam the entire show to be completely distracting and inappropriate. They would have been immediately reprimanded, removed, or relocated at a taping anywhere else in the world...

Not saying WWE shouldn't grow their business out there, again, I don't watch much soccer or tennis or stonings or whatever they do in their spare time to entertain large crowds, so maybe wearing blinding white and shuffling around in large groups while the entertainment is going on is normal over there - and that's ok, but it ruins it for me.

The issue is that WWE is going there and accepting a lot of money in exchange for knowingly allowing themselves to be used as a propaganda tool, and for going to a place that treats women and LGBT people horribly while they are currently in the middle of an LGBT inclusiveness campaign and while they are in the middle of a PR campaign pushing themselves as standing up for women and being feminists (or whatever, exactly, a "Women's Evolution" is, which is yet another flaw in that PR campaign).

The other reason they're getting flak is because they seemed completely taken off guard by the criticism when any person with half a brain could have not only seen it coming but could have also seen a possible solution to head some of it off, which would have been to run a separate, all-women's show somewhere else. It would have and should have been so easy to have that in place to be announced at the same time they announced this Saudi show, but their responses have made it seem like they didn't even think anyone would criticize them for this show in the first place.

As for the guys in white facing the other direction in the front row, I think they might have been event security, but I could be wrong. It certainly makes their actions make a bit more sense (but that's just my theory, though).

[cero2k]

That said, I don't live there, but I'll accept that there are cultures that are different than my own. I see what goes on and it does make me truly appreciate what we have here.

i'll say different culture is burping on the table after you're done eating to show appreciation, or it being more acceptable being nude in europe. beheading gay people for existing and female oppression I personally can't pass as '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' as Triple H nicely put it

[Big Red Machine]

That said, I don't live there, but I'll accept that there are cultures that are different than my own. I see what goes on and it does make me truly appreciate what we have here.

i'll say different culture is burping on the table after you're done eating to show appreciation, or it being more acceptable being nude in europe. beheading gay people for existing and female oppression I personally can't pass as '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' as Triple H nicely put it

This.

[Serujuunin]

As for the guys in white facing the other direction in the front row, I think they might have been event security, but I could be wrong. It certainly makes their actions make a bit more sense (but that's just my theory, though).

I think I heard one of the commentators say those seats were reserved for the royal family. That might have been them?

[Big Red Machine]

As for the guys in white facing the other direction in the front row, I think they might have been event security, but I could be wrong. It certainly makes their actions make a bit more sense (but that's just my theory, though).

I think I heard one of the commentators say those seats were reserved for the royal family. That might have been them?

I think the royal family seats were the ones behind the commentators. They had these big, brown comfy chairs. This was a hard-cam facing section that had some people dressed in t-shirts and with English reading, very normal wrestling fan signs. It didn't seem like a VIP section at all.

[cero2k]

I think the royal family seats were the ones behind the commentators. They had these big, brown comfy chairs. This was a hard-cam facing section that had some people dressed in t-shirts and with English reading, very normal wrestling fan signs. It didn't seem like a VIP section at all.

hardcam was the 'PR' spot with tons of kids and people they wanted to show case, on several occasions i felt they were changing people.

[Bob-O]

That said, I don't live there, but I'll accept that there are cultures that are different than my own. I see what goes on and it does make me truly appreciate what we have here.

i'll say different culture is burping on the table after you're done eating to show appreciation, or it being more acceptable being nude in europe. beheading gay people for existing and female oppression I personally can't pass as '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' as Triple H nicely put it

This.

Good point.

I think the royal family seats were the ones behind the commentators. They had these big, brown comfy chairs. This was a hard-cam facing section that had some people dressed in t-shirts and with English reading, very normal wrestling fan signs. It didn't seem like a VIP section at all.

hardcam was the 'PR' spot with tons of kids and people they wanted to show case, on several occasions i felt they were changing people.

Whatever it was, i couldn't unsee it. Not only was I trying to figure out wtf they were doing, but it really took away from the whole presentation! Being right there on the hard cam, people getting up, coming and going during the matches, it subconsciously makes what's going on in the ring seem less important. OCD as it might be, Shawn Micheals could have come out of retirement to have a Fatal Four Way with Daniel Bryan, Nigel McGuinness against doctors orders, and a returning CM Punk with the ghost of Macho Man Randy Savage as special guest referee while Stone Cold Steve Austin and War Machine sat on the ramp in Coleman Chairs chugging a beer every time somebody did a drop toe hold... and I would STILL be stuck on those stupid white robes shuffling around the front row the entire time. I just can't do it.

[cero2k]

Whatever it was, i couldn't unsee it. Not only was I trying to figure out wtf they were doing, but it really took away from the whole presentation! Being right there on the hard cam, people getting up, coming and going during the matches, it subconsciously makes what's going on in the ring seem less important. OCD as it might be, Shawn Micheals could have come out of retirement to have a Fatal Four Way with Daniel Bryan, Nigel McGuinness against doctors orders, and a returning CM Punk with the ghost of Macho Man Randy Savage as special guest referee while Stone Cold Steve Austin and War Machine sat on the ramp in Coleman Chairs chugging a beer every time somebody did a drop toe hold... and I would STILL be stuck on those stupid white robes shuffling around the front row the entire time. I just can't do it.

i felt the same thing, it was really distracting, it felt like no one live gave a shit about the show

[Serujuunin]

Whatever it was, i couldn't unsee it. Not only was I trying to figure out wtf they were doing, but it really took away from the whole presentation! Being right there on the hard cam, people getting up, coming and going during the matches, it subconsciously makes what's going on in the ring seem less important. OCD as it might be, Shawn Micheals could have come out of retirement to have a Fatal Four Way with Daniel Bryan, Nigel McGuinness against doctors orders, and a returning CM Punk with the ghost of Macho Man Randy Savage as special guest referee while Stone Cold Steve Austin and War Machine sat on the ramp in Coleman Chairs chugging a beer every time somebody did a drop toe hold... and I would STILL be stuck on those stupid white robes shuffling around the front row the entire time. I just can't do it.

i felt the same thing, it was really distracting, it felt like no one live gave a shit about the show

They didn’t. Did you hear how dead the whole crowd was all night? For that many people in the arena, it was almost silent.