Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky are facing backlash over an ad promoting tourism in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country known for its limited human rights freedoms.
The ad shows the couple on the set of a fake action movie, clinging to the side of a building. After the “director” yells “cut,” Chris and Elsa admit that they could “really use a vacation about now” to somewhere “warm and adventurous.”
The scene then cuts to the Australian actor and the Spanish model riding horses in the desert of Abu Dhabi, visiting the National Aquarium with their children, surfing, riding a rollercoaster, and getting massages, among other activities.
Image credits: Elsa Pataky
“Something different and unique. Something we’ve never seen before,” the Thor star says in a voice-over. The campaign was posted to their Instagram accounts and on Visit Abu Dhabi, the city’s official tourism account.
The couple’s campaign was met with strong criticism, as many social media users questioned their decision to promote tourism in the country.
The campaign shows the couple enjoying different activities in Abu Dhabi, including riding a rollercoaster, getting massages, surfing, and horseback riding
Image credits: Chris Hemsworth & Elsa Pataky
Image credits: Chris Hemsworth & Elsa Pataky
“Just got to ignore all the human rights abuses,” one user sarcastically commented.
“How lovely. A country without women’s rights and workers’ rights. An amazing thing to promote with your huge celebrity,” another said.
“Not much of a vacation if you’re a member of the LGBTQIA+ community,” a separate user pointed out.
“No matter how much money these guys throw at us, I’m NOT going to support a country with no women’s rights,” a fourth user stated, while another added, “So shocked!!! Thought you were so earth and animal friendly and involved in women’s rights.”
Social media users criticized the couple for promoting tourism in a country known for its human rights violations
Image credits: Chris Hemsworth & Elsa Pataky
Image credits: Chris Hemsworth & Elsa Pataky
In its 2023 World Report of the country, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) concludes that the UAE “invests in a strategy to paint the country as progressive, tolerant, and rights-respecting while carrying out its zero-tolerance policy toward dissent.”
“Many activists and dissidents remain detained (…) for exercising their rights to free expression and association. UAE-based migrant workers face widespread abuses, including escalating climate risks, and these abuses contribute to climate injustice in multiple ways,” the report reads.
“The UAE ranks among the worst countries in term of human rights,” said Khalid Ibrahim, Executive Director for the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GC4HR)
Image credits: Chris Hemsworth & Elsa Pataky
Image credits: Chris Hemsworth & Elsa Pataky
“The UAE ranks among the worst countries in term of human rights,” Khalid Ibrahim, Executive Director for the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GC4HR), previously told Bored Panda in an email.
“There is [not] even one single human rights defender. The last one was my colleague, a member of the GCHR Board, Ahmed Mansoor, who was detained since 20 March 2017, sentenced to 10 years in prison, and placed in solitary confinement until now,” Ibrahim shared.
Human rights violations in the UAE include restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and association; the kafala sponsorship system, which ties migrant worker visas to their employers, preventing them from leaving without permission; forced labor; and the criminalization of “sodomy” and vaguely defined acts that enable authorities to arrest members of the LGBTQ+ communities, according to the HRW report.
Additionally, the report asserts that the UAE’s fossil fuel industry contributes to toxic air pollution that creates major health risks for its residents and contributes to the global climate crisis.
Women’s rights are also restricted, as Article 56 of the Federal Personal Status Law obliges a woman to maintain the home, and Article 71 states that a woman can lose her right to spousal maintenance from her husband if she abandons their home, prevents her husband from entering their home, or does not abide by her marital obligations stated in the law.
According to the report, women in the UAE are not allowed to move residence with their children without the father’s permission.
Bored Panda has contacted Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky’s representatives for comment.
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