Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has apologized after calling the murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi “a mistake.” The leader of the global ride sharing company made the remarks earlier this month in an interview with Dan Primack on Axios, CNBC reported.
“It’s a serious mistake,” Khosrowshahi said on the show, “We’ve made mistakes too, right? With self-driving, and we stopped driving and we’re recovering from that mistake. I think that people make mistakes, it doesn’t mean that they can never be forgiven. I think they have taken it seriously,”
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 68: Jamarlin Martin
Jamarlin talks about the recent backlash against Lebron James for not speaking up for Joshua Wong and the violent Hong Kong protestors.
According to Axios, an hour after the interview Khosrowshahi sent a statement which said, “I said something in the moment that I do not believe. When it comes to Jamal Khashoggi, his murder was reprehensible and should not be forgotten or excused.”
In addition to making light of Khashoggi’s murder, the reason the Uber chief’s comments were heavily scrutinized is because Saudi Arabia is Uber’s fifth largest shareholder.
“There’s no forgiving or forgetting what happened to Jamal Khashoggi & I was wrong to call it a “mistake.” As I told @danprimack after our interview, I said something in the moment I don’t believe. Our investors have long known my views here & I’m sorry I wasn’t as clear on Axios,” Khosrowshahi tweeted after the interview.
