A number of celebrities are boycotting hotels owned by Hassanal Bolkiah, the sultan of Brunei, to protest a new criminal law that punishes same-sex sexual acts and adultery with death by stoning in the small Southeast Asian nation. "We need to do something now," Ellen DeGeneres wrote on Instagram, listing some of the world's top hotels.
A similar boycott was launched in Hollywood back in 2014, when the sultan first announced plans to implement new sections in the nation's penal code. "That’s why David and I have long refused to stay at these hotels and will continue to do so," Elton John wrote. "We hope you will join us in solidarity."
Here are the hotels to boycott: The Dorchester, London 45 Park Lane, London Coworth Park, UK The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles Le Meurice, Paris Hotel Plaza Athenee, Paris Hotel Eden, Rome Hotel Principe di Savoia, Mi Elton xx
Elton acknowledged that the boycott would impact "the good, hardworking employees of properties owned by the Sultan of Brunei, many of whom we know to be gay," but still insisted that a message needs to be made regarding Brunei's new law.
Other celebrities who've voiced their support for #BoycottBrunei, include Bobby Berk of Netflix's Queer Eye...
Brunei owns the @BevHillsHotel & @HotelBelAir #BoycottBrunei “New Brunei Laws to Punish ‘Homosexual Acts’ by Stoning to Death https://t.co/ifSQQwfXVY
...and sports legend and activist Billie Jean King, who tweeted, "The atrocity begins today in Brunei."
This atrocity begins today in #Brunei. Please join me and spread the word about the boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. https://t.co/GcJnlbq5nb
Actor George Clooney has also been speaking out against Brunei's new laws in a guest column on the entertainment industry website Deadline: "I've learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can’t shame them," he wrote. "But you can shame the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way."
George Clooney On Boycotting Sultan Of Brunei-Owned Hotels Part 2: Good People Cannot Be Complicit By Doing Nothing https://t.co/TqvuMkTF0w
George has since responded to critics — like TV host Bill Maher — who've been publicly condemning the hotel boycott and its effectiveness. "You can’t make the bad guys be good, but you can stop the good guys from being complicit," the actor wrote in a follow-up piece. "Let me just paint you a picture: 20 years from now, you or your kids are asked, 'Is it true that the guy that owned all of these great hotels was stoning gay people to death?' And you say 'yes.' The next question will be, 'And you still went there?'"
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis tweeted her support of George for "doing the right thing, fighting an unjust and barbaric law."
I stand with George Clooney, a good man doing the right thing, fighting an unjust and barbaric law. George Clooney: Boycott Sultan Of Brunei’s Hotels Laws Against LGBTQs | Deadline https://t.co/fjR2hv1sTb
While the office of Brunei's Prime Minister released its own statement last Saturday, defending the nation's right to implement its own rule of laws "like all other independent countries," rights groups across the globe, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, continue to denounce the news.
“This new penal code allows punishments...which are unspeakably cruel and have no place anywhere in the world", says @stevecockburn of @Amnesty https://t.co/5JNdG4hpR1
"We are alarmed that the code criminalizes behaviour that should not be considered crimes at all," said Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International's Deputy Director of Global Issues. "The international community must continue to condemn Brunei’s decision to put these cruel penalties into practice."