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Octavia Nasr was in the UAE yesterday to market her new consultancy venture but apparently the audience was not very receptive:

A journalist walked out of the room as a sign of protest after Octavia Nasr refused to comment on her forced resignation from CNN.

[…]

Many of the audience members said they left the lecture disappointed because they wanted to listen to her experience as an Arab who worked in the American media, and whether she could confirm that the Western media were biased against the Arab world.

Other audience members also protested that she only came to promote her new business and said they were upset that she declined to get into a discussion of the politics surrounding Western media.

Octavia, however, defended her actions:

“People came here to gossip and had an agenda that was different to mine. To repeat things that you already know is a waste of time, and what they wanted to hear was out there already,” said Octavia, speaking on the sidelines of a lecture she gave last Tuesday evening at the Sharjah International Book Fair.

Though I believe the audience’s actions were quite rude, it important that Octavia speak out about what happened only to effectively put it to rest. “Lying low” andĀ preferring to be away from the limelight will not help put the past behind her.

Octavia Nasr | Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Octavia Nasr | Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News