Influencers Are Facing Backlash for Promoting This Saudi Arabian Music Festival

Alicia Brunker

MDL Beast, a music festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has recently landed many celebrities in hot water.

Over the weekend, dozens of models and influencers (Irina Shayk, Joan Smalls, Sofia Richie), as well as actors (Ed Westwick, Armie Hammer) are facing criticism for accepting a paid trip to the musical event. However, it wasn't the expense-free vacation itself that sparked backlash, but rather the promotion of Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination despite its human rights record, including the country's stance on women's rights and the LGBTQ community.

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Can’t wait for tonight @mdlbeast

A post shared by Sofia Richie (@sofiarichie) on Dec 20, 2019 at 5:21am PST

Instagram account @dietprada was one of the first to call out the festival's attendees for supporting the rehabilitation of the country's public image.

"What’s worse than an all white @revolve influencer trip? Cashing big fat checks in exchange for #content creation (aka propaganda) to rehabilitate the image of Saudi Arabia, a country said to be causing 'the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,' according to the United Nations," the account wrote alongside several images of famous faces posing in the desert and at event venue.

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What’s worse than an all white @revolve influencer trip? Cashing big fat checks in exchange for #content creation (aka propaganda) to rehabilitate the image of Saudi Arabia, a country said to be causing “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”, according to the United Nations. According to anonymous sources, six-figure sums were offered for attendance and geo-tagged posts. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Following the government’s pre-meditated murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi in October 2018 , the arrest of women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul in May 2018, the outing of a gay Saudi journalist and his partner who began receiving death threats from their families (homosexuality is a crime in Saudi Arabia and punishable by death), and countless other human rights abuses, a bevy of supermodels, influencers, celebrities, and musicians convened in Riyadh for the inaugural @mdlbeast . According to @hypebeast , the electronic music festival is “one of the most significant musical events the region has ever seen”. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Saudi Arabia has been spending billions to change its image in the west, but this is sure to be the most expensive campaign yet. In a series of Instagram stories posted by transgender model @teddy_quinlivan , it was revealed that fellow model @emrata had turned down the trip, evidently aware of the country’s human rights crisis. “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. I hope coming forward on this brings more attention to the injustices happening there”, said Ratajkowski in a statement to Diet Prada. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Unfortunately, not all shared the same sentiments. There are simply too many attendees to name. Dieters, feel free to tag any attendees you know of... just in case they haven’t been reading the news. • #propoganda #jamalkashoggi #humanrights #humanrightsabuse #lgbtq #lgbtqrights #freespeech #journalism #independent #womensrights #mdlbeast #edm #electronicmusic #supermodel #influencer #content #riyadh #emrata #emilyratajkowski #teddyquinlivan #model #celebrity #dj #electronicmusic #musicfestival #wtf #smh #government #corruption #dietprada

A post shared by Diet Prada ™ (@diet_prada) on Dec 21, 2019 at 2:04pm PST

Diet Prada continued the statement by highlighting several instances of human rights abuses reportedly committed by the Saudi government (including the murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi, as well as the arrest of women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul), and slamming the influencers and celebrities that accepted money to promote the trip.

They also highlighted celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski who turned down the opportunity. “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 told Diet Prada. “I hope coming forward on this brings more attention to the injustices happening there.”

<p>Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images</p>

Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images

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Meanwhile, Martha Hunt also publicly declined the trip, noting on Instagram Stories: "I stand in solidarity with the repressed people of Saudi Arabia and refuse to be used as a campaign to cover up those suffering from injustice. I encourage other influencers to make informed monetized decisions based on social conscience and integrity."

In September, Saudi Arabia announced it would open itself to foreign tourism, offering tourism visas and enacting new policies that would make the destination more appealing to Westerners, such as allowing solo female travelers and unmarried couples to book hotel rooms. Following these changes, @dietprada claims the kingdom "has been spending billions to change its image in the west, but this [MDL Beast] is sure to be the most expensive campaign yet."