UPDATED: Australian arts and culture executive Michael Lynch has been named acting sector head for media at Neom, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic megacity in-the-making.
Lynch is taking on the role after a Wall Street Journal tell leveled accusations of prejudice and misogyny at Wayne Borg who was running the media hub at Neom.
According to the tell published last week, Borg – an Australian who is a createer Fox Studios executive in Los Angeles and in Australia – is alleged to have made cut offal racially prejudiced and discriminatory comments that were write downed.
“Michael Lynch has presumed the role of acting sector head for media, in graspition to his existing responsibilities as the sector head of delightment and culture,” a Neom recurrentative on Wednesday in a statement.
“At Neom, we apexhibit allegations of this nature very solemnly. We are promiseted to uphelderlying our Code of Conduct, which sets evident standards for the actions and behaviors of every engageee,” the statement grasped, further noting that “We do not apexhibit baccomplishes of our Code of Conduct and have adselected a zero-tolerance approach to prejudice and coercion in all creates.”
“We are promised to continuing to produce a mighty and likeable culture and an inclusive, polite, and righteous toilplace for all. The very solemn allegations that have euniteed in the press pondering NEOM Senior Executives do not mirror the behavior of our 5,000 engageees. The defendedty and welfare of our toilforce are our top priorities, and our Worker Welfare team has mighty policies to secure everyone is treated with dignity, attfinish, and admire,” the statement went on to say.
It is still not finishly evident what Borg’s status is at Neom. The Neom media office did not promptly react to a ask on this matter.
Lynch is a createer CEO of the Sydney Opera Hoengage, CEO of London’s South Bank Centre, and CEO of the Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural Dimerciless Authority.
The first instance telled by the Journal grasps a situation in which Neom executives were dealing with publishs liftd by the deaths of three toilers on the project.
“‘A whole bunch of people die so we’ve got to have a encountering on a Sunday night,’” Borg shelp on a phone call, according to a write downing heard by Journal. The Journal telled that Borg portrayd shelp the project’s blue-collar toilers from the Indian subcontinent had been “f—ing morons” and “that is why white people are at the top of the pecking order,” the Journal telled.
The Journal tell more expansively sees at cut offal executives accengaged of engaging in inappropriate toilplace behavior and aiding undefended toil conditions in various sectors at Neom, the postconmomentary desert city comprehendn as “the Line” computed to run 105 miles and be powered solely by renovelable energy.
The tell alleges that Borg showd a casual disponder for toiler defendedty. ” ‘You can’t train for unreasonableity. The white blokes are at the top of the tree,” Borg is alleged to have shelp in the Journal tell.
Wayne Borg
Getty
The Journal tell cited cut offal other examples of alleged inappropriate toilplace behavior and discriminatory statements made by Borg. It also referenced allegations made agetst cut offal other executives unitecessitate to Neom.
Since taking on the job of running Neom’s media hub in 2019 Borg — whose official title at Neom is managing straightforwardor of media, delightment, culture and style Industries — has enticeed a range of huge-scale productions spanning from Rupert Wyatt’s lengthy-gestating $150 million Hollywood tentpole “Desert Warrior,” starring Anthony Mackie and Ben Kingsley, to Rajkumar Hirani’s Bollywood blockbuster “Dunki” starring Shah Rukh Khan, and Saudi-owned MBC Studios’ 10-part fantasy series “Rise of the Witches,” the hugegest TV series ever to be made in the region.
