Samuel L. Jackson speaks out against racial profiling of Muslims: 'I feel sorry for everybody who looks Middle Eastern'

The actor compared their treatment to that of African-Americans

Jackson spoke at the press conference for The Hateful Eight (John Sciulli/Getty Images for The Weinstein Co)

Samuel L. Jackson said he “feels sorry for everybody who looks Middle Eastern” following the wave of Islamophobia in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shooting.

During a press conference to promote his new film Hateful Eight, the actor expressed concern for those who may face prejudice or racism after such attacks, reports the Daily Beast.

“I feel sorry for everybody who looks Middle Eastern right now because that’s going to happen”, Jackson said.

Comparing this to the racial profiling many African-Americans have been subject to, he continued: “And for a minute, it was us.”

“We have to be these very nice kinds of Negroes so that we feel safe walking around. Because if you present yourself as any other thing, then people call people on you.”

On Wednesday, U.S citizen Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik left their six-month-old daughter at home before embarking on a killing spree at a social services centre in San Bernardino, California.

The couple killed 14 people and injured 21 before they were shot dead by police.

The FBI have since announced they will be investigating the attack as an act of terrorism after Farook’s support and links with Isis became apparent.

On Sunday evening, President Obama made a rare address from the Oval office and urged Americans not to be prejudice against Muslim Americans, saying: “Isis does not speak for Islam; they are thugs and killers, part of a cult of death; and they account for a tiny fraction of Muslims.