CM Punk Faces Backlash Over Pushing Away Child

Social media users have been quick to criticise CM Punk, with the former WWE Champion at the centre of another backlash only hours after he landed in Saudi Arabia.

While Punk met with fans in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and took photos with local celebrities, including Ibrahim Al-Hajjaj, a clip on social media has revealed Punk pushed away a child when they wanted to take a selfie with the 46-year-old.

The clip showed Punk, wearing a Bret Hart sweater, walking with Randy Orton and security personnel behind them. As the small child approached to take a photo with Punk, the child was quickly pushed away by him, with security also making sure the child could not approach the wrestler.

CM Punk has received overwhelming criticism on social media over the clip, but the push away has also become a meme, with one user joking Punk's push was comparable to Sting's treatment of a child during his famous commercial for Sprite. Another user, meanwhile, wrote, "CM Punk can I get a pi-" along with a GIF of Tug Speedman throwing a child into a river during Tropic Thunder.

CM Punk has already been accused of being a hypocrite for wrestling in Saudi Arabia, where he will challenge John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions.

The criticism is due to CM Punk's past comments about Saudi Arabia, with him telling The Miz during a brief Twitter spat in 2020 to "go suck a blood money covered d**k in Saudi Arabia you f*****g dork." Punk's views on Saudi Arabia appear to have softened, though, and reports noted he could have turned down performing at Night of Champions but Punk had not voiced any objections about wrestling in Saudi Arabia for months at the very least.

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