Will Smith Hopes America Can ‘Cleanse’ Itself of Trump Supporters

Actor Will Smith thinks Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy is a good thing for America — because now the country can “cleanse” itself of the Republican nominee and his supporters.

At a press event in Dubai to promote his latest film Suicide Squad, the 47-year-old actor said he believes it is important to “speak out about the insanity” of the 2016 presidential race.

“As painful as it is to hear Donald Trump talk and as embarrassing as it is as an American to hear him talk, I think it’s good,” Smith said, according to the Associated Press. “We get to know who people are and now we get to cleanse it out of our country.”

Smith also said his appearance in Dubai was itself a rebuke to “Islamophobia” in America.

“In terms of Islamophobia in America, for me that’s why it’s important to show up,” he said.

“The Middle East can’t allow Fox News to be the arbiter of the imagery, you know,” Smith added. “So cinema is a huge way to be able to deliver the truth of the soul of a place to a global audience.”

Smith has increasingly spoken up in opposition to Trump’s candidacy in recent weeks. In an interview with Australian news outlet news.com.au earlier this month, the actor said that a “separatist, non-inclusive, racist, xenophobic wave” is currently sweeping the globe and pulling society further apart.

“For a man to be able to publicly refer to a woman as a fat pig, that makes me teary,” Smith told the news website, referring to Trump’s long-running feud with actress Rosie O’Donnell. “My grandmother would have smacked my teeth out of my head if I had referred to a woman as a fat pig. And I cannot understand how people can clap for that. It’s absolutely collective insanity.”

In an appearance on The Tonight Show last month, Smith expressed hope that the country could undergo a similar “cleansing,” as racist incidents are increasingly captured on film across America.

“When everything gets out, it’s a good thing,” Smith told Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon. “It just sucks bad when the truth is out. But I think everybody can see it now. And I think it’s just a little darkness before the cleansing that we’ll have as we move forward.”

 

Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum