George Clooney leads hotel boycott over violent, anti-gay laws in Brunei

Oscar-winner George Clooney has announced he will lead a boycott of all Brunei-owned hotels over the recent passage of a horrific anti-gay law.

Clooney penned a fiery op-ed this week, calling on the world to stay far away from any hotel venue owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, a company in turn owned by the Sultan of Brunei. The actor notes that he has boycotted the same hotel company in the past over anti-gay laws.

The terrifying new law would see people convicted of same-sex activity stoned and whipped to death. The draconian attitude and punishment earned Clooney’s ire. His proposed boycott would include two hotels in the US, both in Los Angeles: The Beverly Hills Hotel and The Hotel Bel-Air.

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“Every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery,” Clooney writes. “Brunei is a Monarchy and certainly any boycott would have little effect on changing these laws. But are we really going to help pay for these human rights violations? Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?”

As a celebrity Clooney has long championed progressive causes, including queer rights. Brunei has a long history of violence against LGBTQ people, and homosexual activity was illegal prior to the passage of the new penal codes. However, the new laws, which were introduced in 2014 as part of a nationwide effort to codify Islamic Law, saw much harsher punishments implemented for a variety of offenses including proscribed amputations for theft and the death penalty for not attending Islamic religious services.

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