Newly single Omar bin Laden, the son of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, says he dreams of a date with Drew Barrymore. "I want to go to America, and I would love to meet Drew Barrymore," said Omar, 29, who recently split from wife Zaina, 25 years his senior. "I am single now and she is the most beautiful woman in Hollywood."
Yet it turns out the actress is not the junior Laden's sole interest in American popular culture. Speaking from a Doha, Qatar hotel in an interview with The Sun, he also professes an admiration for Jim Carrey, American football, rock music and Madonna. "She's such a great dancer for a woman of her age," he says of the Material Girl, 51.
While it may be surprising to hear Omar, who was once anointed as his father's successor, speak of Western pop icons in such endearing terms, he notes that he and his father differ in their political views. "It's a weak son who just wants to be like his daddy," he said. "I miss him as a father, but we are different. I want peace."
The Sun's interview with Omar ran on the same day a controversial Indian filmfeaturing a lookalike of his father hit international cinemas. "Tere Bin Laden" (or "Without You Laden") is said to be a slapstick Bollywood comedy about a TV journalist who films a video with a bin Laden look-alike in an effort to gain American residency. While Omar claims he and his infamous father haven't been in contact since April 2001, he remains certain Osama is still alive.
"If that sort of person dies, you could never make it a secret. The world changes if he dies," he said.