When Brunei controversially announced that it was imposing death by stoning to homosexuals, several Hollywood celebrities including George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John, who called out a boycott over hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei.
The boycott has proven to be effective as the Brunei ruler is now forced to back down from imposing the death penalty after a month of international pressure and backlash.
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. pic.twitter.com/24KJsemPGH
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) April 2, 2019
In an interview on American talk show “Ellen”, the 58-year-old claimed that the boycott serves as warning for other Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, who are allegedly considering such laws as well.
“This is something that is manageable because it sends a warning shot over to countries like Indonesia and Malaysia who are also considering these laws that the business people, the big banks, those guys are going to say don’t even get into that business,” Clooney told DeGeneres.
Clooney also previously released a statement, mentioning the same points, after receiving news that the Sultan of Brunei was extending a moratorium on the death penalty to upcoming legislation prohibiting gay sex.
“This is a huge step forward after a giant leap backwards. It promises that the citizens of Brunei won’t be executed for being gay. It also sends a very crucial message to countries like Indonesia and Malaysia that there is a cost for enacting these laws,” he said as quoted by Deadline.
