Last week, George Clooney made a public declaration that he was boycotting 9 hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei (Hassanal Bolkiah) and his Brunei Investment Agency.
Since then, 2 other Hollywood big stars – Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John – have come forth to join Clooney in protesting against country’s anti-gay policies under Sharia Law.
From today (Wednesday, 3rd April 2019) onwards, the LGBTQ community and adulterers can legally be stoned to death. “We need to do something now,” urged DeGeneres. “Raise your voices now. Spread the word. Rise up.”
This comes after Elton John praised Clooney against “taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of Brunei”. The legendary singer added, “We must send a message, however we can, that such treatment is unacceptable. That’s why David (Furnish, Elton John’s husband) and I have long refused to stay at these hotels and will continue to do so.”
DeGeneres even posted a list of the aforementioned 9 hotels on her social media. Her Instagram post alone has since garnered 850k likes and over 20k comments.
Datuk Aznil Hj Nawawi, better known as Pak Nil, left a comment on DeGeneres’ post. The Malaysian entertainer felt that it wasn’t DeGeneres’ place to voice her opinion – a sentiment echoed by many Malaysians in the comments section.
