A Syrian refugee living in Germany is has drawn global attention after becoming a porn star.
Antonio Suleiman, who’s still just 19, got involved in porn after trying to get into acting in Germany. He said he faced discrimination and racism in the industry before being hired in several adult movies, in Belgium. Later, he told the Local, he took matters into his own hands by producing and starring in his own film, called the Arabian King.
He’s faced criticism from the Syrian community and as a result of racism in Germany, but says his work is about respecting the Syrian body rather than degrading it.
“For over five years now, Syrians have mainly been pictured under rubble, massacred, their dead bodies in the Mediterranean, or humiliated throughout their perilous journey to Europe. Surely that’s what degrades and violates the ‘Syrian body’,” he told the Local.
“Yes, I used my body. I used it to show that this body can make love, can have sex, and does not only exist in order to die.”
Work hard, the life getting much better pic.twitter.com/cu9zoyfdn5
— Antonio Suleiman (@syrian_pornstar) 12 September 2016
Suleiman’s Twitter feed is very much NSFW (he’s literally a porn actor, so we’ll leave it to your imagination) but he received some very positive responses on social media.
@syrian_pornstar nice article, great photo op as well. Laurel showed me the article. pretty genius
— Kimberly (@kimberlybabcock) 28 October 2016
"I... show that [the Syrian body] can make love, can have sex, and does not only exist in order to die." - @syrian_pornstar LOVE this guy
— Shia La Poof (@beefilmnz) 3 November 2016
Suleiman hopes that porn is only the beginning for his acting career, however. He hopes to apply his talents to more artistic work in the future.
