Australian film star Chris Hemsworth has been criticized for appearing in a slick ad promoting Abu Dhabi as a tourist destination in partnership with the United Arab Emirates government, using his influence to promote the Gulf nation. He became the latest celebrity.
Hemsworth appears in a one-minute ad with his wife Elsa Pataky, an actor and model. instagram account on wednesday. The ad was also shared on the Experience Abu Dhabi Instagram account.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international non-governmental advocacy group, said the UAE is “investing in a strategy that portrays the country as progressive, tolerant and rights-respecting, while cracking down on dissent.” Ta.
Hemsworth's campaign video to attract tourists to the UAE capital begins with Hemsworth and Pataky pretending to film an intense action movie.
Hanging off the side of a building between takes, sweat dripping down his forehead, Hemsworth tells Pataky, “I could take a vacation now.” “Yes, me too,” she answered.
The ad cuts back and forth between a fake movie set and a montage of clips of Hemsworth and Pataky enjoying various Abu Dhabi attractions with their young children, including kayaking, desert horseback riding, and surfing. There is.
The ad announced that the Albanian government had signed a free trade agreement with the UAE, removing tariffs on almost all Australian exports to the Gulf state, despite concerns over the treatment of migrant workers. It was released on the same day as.
Trade Minister Don Farrell, who resisted calls from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to scrap the deal, said on Wednesday the deal would bring about $678 million worth of additional exports from Australia to the UAE.
The ACTU had said the UAE would be “one of the most repressive countries with which the Australian Government has ever entered into a bilateral trade agreement”.
The top trade union body said the UAE was “notorious for serious human and labor rights violations, including modern slavery” and that 90% of the workforce was migrants.
Fans criticized Hemsworth for starring in the Thor blockbuster Also part of Tourism Australia Global Ambassador – For participating in a campaign promoting the UAE without ever mentioning human rights issues.
Professor Justin Nolan, director of the Australian Institute for Human Rights at the University of New South Wales, said the ad was a “very deliberate strategy” to promote an image that differed from “the reality on the ground”.
“They're trying to move forward and improve their image,” she says. “They have come under fire for their treatment of dissidents, protests, women and the LGBTI+ community.” [and] Immigrant workers. ”
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She did not believe that the timing of the campaign and the free trade agreement was a coincidence.
“While it is undoubtedly true that some progress has been made in the UAE, there are still many people who are second-class citizens because of their gender, race or sexual orientation,” she said.
“[Australia] They're saying, “We're doing business here, but we're going to turn a blind eye to that aspect.'' ”
An Amnesty International spokesperson said that human rights violations across the UAE, “particularly through the arbitrary arrest, detention and, in some cases, torture of political prisoners, by the government against freedom of speech, peaceful protest and dissent” He said he was concerned about the suppression of
Hemsworth and Pataky are not the first local celebrities to stir controversy by promoting tourism in the Middle East's Gulf region.
Last year, actor Rebel Wilson came under fire for reportedly attending the grand opening of Atlantis The Royal Dubai Hotel in the UAE's most populous city with his girlfriend and promoting the trip on social media. Ta.
After the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2019, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sought to repair its damaged image by leveraging social media influencers, including some Australians.
The UAE is Australia's largest trading and investment partner in the Middle East, with more than $9.9 billion in two-way trade and $20.7 billion in two-way investment in 2023.
Guardian Australia has attempted to contact Mr Hemsworth for comment through his talent agency, Australian Talent & Media Specialists, and fitness app Centr, which he co-founded.
