Lewis Hamilton admitted that participating in the Formula One Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia, a country criticized for human rights violations, did not make him comfortable. To this end, he will wear a helmet in the colors of the LGBT + community.
“Am I comfortable here?” I wouldn’t say that. “This is how Lewis Hamilton He was attacked at a press conference on Thursday before the penultimate round of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix of the season Formula 1Because in addition to sports issues, the game scheduled to be held in Jeddah on Sunday has attracted enough attention to the title because of its significance on the international stage, and this country is often due to human rights violations. And be criticized.
“Our sport choice is here, it’s not my choice,” the British Mercedes driver insisted. Regardless of whether this is correct or not, I think it is still important to do some outreach work when we are here. Many changes must happen, and our movement must do more. “For him, this will be a problem, just like in Qatar two weeks ago, wearing the LGBT+ community color helmet again. He will also wear it in Abu Dhabi next week.
Hamilton calls for “change”
“Some changes need to be made. If anyone wants to take the time to read the laws that apply to the LGBTQ+ community…it’s horrible,” he said in a comment in a newspaper report. protectorSaudi Arabia is a country that only allows women to drive since 2018, because it is one of the countries with the highest enforcement rate in the world, so the arrival of Formula One is part of the campaign to improve its image.
The NGO Human Rights Watch responded: “If it does not express its concerns about Saudi Arabia’s serious violations, then despite the marked increase in repression in recent years, Formula One may support the Saudi government’s high price for whitewashing its image. s hard work”. In a statement.
In 2002, three Saudis were “convicted of homosexuality, mating, and seducing minors,” which was considered the “most despicable and humiliating” behavior and sentenced to death. Then beheaded Because of “sodomy, their marriage and incitement to pedophilia”.
Bieber becomes the target of controversy
Singer Justin Bieber decided to attend a concert in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, with French DJ David Guetta and American singer Jason Derulo In an off-site concert at F1 GP, he found himself at the center of the controversy. As the kingdom violated human rights, activists called on the Canadian pop star to cancel her visit. The Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancé Hatice Cengiz was assassinated at his country’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018, and his campaign called on Bieber to cancel the visit.
She wrote in a column in the Washington Post: “This is a unique opportunity to send a strong message to the world that your name and talents will not be used to restore the image of a regime that kills opponents. .” On social media, the hashtag #WTFJustin was widely shared because a plane said “Why Bieber sings for a Saudi assassin?” It flew over Los Angeles at the American Music Awards last month.