"The Hateful Eight" star Samuel L. Jackson was in Hawaii when he learned of the horrific shooting spree in San Bernardino, Calif., and at first hoped the culprit would turn out to be "another, you know, crazy white dude," he told the Hollywood Reporter.

ajc.com

Credit: Jennifer Brett

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Credit: Jennifer Brett

Not that he wants more insane white people to commit mass shootings. Instead, he feared Islamophobic reprisals should the shooters turn out to be Muslim, he said.

Jackson, a Morehouse man who filmed "Cell" with John Cusack and "Barely Lethal" with Hailee Steinfeld and Jessica Alba in Atlanta in recent years, said said he "empathizes with innocent Muslim-Americans who have fallen under the veil of suspicion because a few other people who share their religion have committed atrocities against their countrymen."

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Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport domestic terminal on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, the first day of the Federal Aviation Administration cutting flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

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