DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Will Smith was in the Middle East on Sunday promoting the movie “Suicide Squad”, but the Hollywood star said his time in Dubai is also a chance to counter an increasingly anti-Muslim climate surrounding the U.S. presidential race.
Smith, who plays the sharpshooter Deadshot in the film, said he’s having fun and tweeting pictures of his time in Dubai, showing that “Hey, it doesn’t look like they hate me, does it?”
“In terms of Islamophobia in America, for me that’s why it’s important to show up,” he said.
He encouraged local film makers and producers to find more ways to tell the story of the region to the world.
“The Middle East can’t allow Fox News to be the arbiter of the imagery, you know. So cinema is a huge way to be able to deliver the truth of the soul of a place to a global audience,” he said.