In the wake of Brunei’s anti-gay law introduction, celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John voiced their concern towards the new strict laws, that implement a violent law that states those who commit homosexual acts are to be stoned to death.
Ellen took to Twitter to support a boycott on the Brunei-backed hotels owned by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th leader of the Southeast Asian country. The plea initially made by George Clooney has received support from celebrities across the globe. “They’re nice hotels. The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties. But let’s be clear, 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,” wrote Clooney.
“Tomorrow, the country of #Brunei will start stoning gay people to death. We need to do something now. Please boycott these hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Raise your voices now. Spread the word. Rise up,” wrote DeGeneres on Twitter.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah happens to own nine hotels in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
The brutal new laws have sparked outrage among human rights organisations and public figures. Offences such as rape, robbery and defamation of the Prophet Muhammad will carry the death penalty, while theft will be punishable by amputation. Lesbian sex will carry a penalty of 40 strokes of the cane and/or a maximum of 10 years in jail, while those who “persuade, tell or encourage” Muslim children under the age of 18 “to accept the teachings of religions other than Islam” are liable for a fine or jail. Homosexuality was already illegal in the country.