Why Are Celebrities Like Ellen DeGeneres and George Clooney Boycotting This Hotel?
The battle for LGBTQ rights still struggles in America, despite so many fast strides in just the last decade. In other countries, it’s a different story, especially in Islamic countries where the idea of homosexuality or adultery is considered a sin punishable by the most violent means.
In Brunei, they’ve upheld this religious view from the Quran and didn’t hesitate making it law. Once it became a part of their new criminal legal system recently, it brought an uproar across the world.
Whatever your personal views are, it certainly smacks in the face of reality. While Hollywood often gets involved in similar causes, some powerfully notable names might make a difference in reversing this Shariah law.
George Clooney once again stepping in to give a warning tale
It seems George Clooney has been warning people about a lot of things in the last year. First, he addressed the paparazzi harassment of Meghan Markle and said it wreaked of repeated history with Princess Diana.
Not long after Brunei set their criminal law into place of stoning or whipping anyone who partakes in homosexuality, Clooney immediately ripped into the law and went for the jugular. The latter in this case is him and other A-list stars agreeing to boycott all the luxury hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei.
As Clooney said himself:
“I’ve learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can’t shame them. But you can shame the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way.”
He’s not the only powerful person who’s willing to boycott these hotels either. One of them represents the LGBTQ community on a significant level.
Ellen DeGeneres’s strong criticism of Brunei’s law
A lot of celebrities have spoken out about this harsh new law, including Ellen DeGeneres. In total, 20 A-list names have stepped up in denouncing what Brunei has done.
Actions speak louder than words, though, as Clooney noted above. DeGeneres went so far as to post on Instagram listing all the hotels owned by Brunei’s Sultan. Latter owns hotels all over the world, including two in the U.S., three in the U.K., two in Paris, and two in Italy.
The two in America are near Hollywood, making it easy for celebrities to bring up the idea of boycotting the hotels. One hotel is in L.A. and the other is in Beverly Hills. You might be familiar with the latter as the very famous Beverly Hills Hotel.
Now with Clooney and DeGeneres telling people to boycott these hotels in the name of LGBTQ support, we have to wonder if they’ll be listened to or if too many people will become complacent.
Boycotts work well when they’re done right
There isn’t any question that Clooney and DeGeneres have enormous power in the things they say. Whether people would instantly do as they say is another matter.
We’ve noted in recent years the countries with the worst track records on LGBTQ rights are Russia, Saudi Arabia/Middle East, and India/Northern Africa. Now you can add Brunei to the mix, which is part of SE Asia.
As we see this problem seemingly expand, knowing what these countries own can still make a difference in denouncing their laws. However, with hotels being such a major part of everyday lives, we have to wonder how many people will really boycott the Sultan of Brunei’s properties.
Condemnation from major celebrity names is already damaging, though. We’ll have to wait and see whether people will realize what’s at stake for the future and take real action on sending Brunei a strong message.
