George Clooney among celebs boycotting luxury hotels Published By Tribute on Apr 03, 2019


George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John are among the celebrities boycotting certain luxury hotels.

The Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, who owns nine high-end hotels around the world, introduced strict new laws that came into effect on April 3, 2018. These new measures include the punishment of being stoned to death for adulterers and homosexuals, as well as a punishment of amputation of the hand for theft.

Due to these regressive and cruel laws, numerous celebrities are calling for a boycott on the nine hotels that exist in major cities around the world owned by the government-controlled Brunei Investment Agency.

These include The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, Le Meurice and Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris, The Dorchester and 45 Park Lane in London, Hotel Eden in Rome, Milan's Hotel Principe di Savoia and Coworth Park near Ascot, U.K.

Ellen DeGeneres took to social media to urge her followers to boycott the hotels.



Actress Ellen Pompeo reacted to Ellen's tweet by writing in the comments: "#BOYCOTTTHESEHOTELS Human rights matter."

In a guest column for Deadline.com, George Clooney wrote about how Brunei, a small, rich country with oil, would "begin stoning and whipping to death any of its citizens that are proved to be gay." He further asked, "Are we really going to help pay for these human rights violations? Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?"

Elton John also spoke candidly about the new laws on Instagram:


The Sultan reinforced his decision by stating, "I want to see Islamic teachings in this country grow stronger," during a public speech.

Homosexuality was already illegal in Brunei and punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Although Brunei has retained the death penalty, it had not carried out an execution since 1957. The law mostly applies to Muslims, including children who have reached puberty, although some laws will apply to non-Muslims.

Under the new laws, individuals accused of certain acts will be convicted if they confess or if there were witnesses present.

This system of governing has been heavily criticized in the past, as it utilizes a strict interpretation of Sharia Law. The UN has spoken out against death by stoning, saying it "constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and is thus clearly prohibited." ~Emily Chavez

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Comments & Discussion

  • marilyn - 4/3/2019 5:08:22 PM
    horrid
  • Shannon - 4/3/2019 7:24:02 PM
    Unbelievable and shameful
  • Ross Murray - 4/3/2019 10:34:30 PM
    In a world where most of us are trying to move forward and make things better, here is a country whose so-called leadership is driving things backwards. Madly backwards!
  • FYman - 4/4/2019 1:01:03 AM
    Don’t care!,,!!!!!!
  • Ed Smith - 4/4/2019 9:02:25 AM
    This country should either be locked down as in no entry , patrolled or utterly destroyed , of course any who prefer to live in a decent and free world may do so , then nuke 'em.
  • Chad - 4/4/2019 10:32:55 AM
    So @Ed Smith, where are those innocent people supposed to flee to? How about the UN do something as this is clearly a Human Rights violation, instead of just tsking at them because they are rich?
  • Kevin - 4/4/2019 10:45:20 AM
    I couldn't afford any of those hotels, but I hope people who can do boycott them. This is a travesty.
  • Karen Berlin - 4/4/2019 10:49:50 AM
    I think what the government is doing is horrible and inhumane and barbaric. The boycott will only affect the working class people that work at those hotels. They will suffer so that these pretentious uber rich can boycott these expensive hotels that only the elite 1% can afford. With all of their brain power, money, and influence, they could find a better solution to save people from horrid punishments by narrow minded and evil leaders and not put undo hardship on people that rely on the wages and tips of these hotels. All sounds great but these influencers can do better, much better.
  • Derek Beaupre - 4/4/2019 11:40:47 AM
    Sounds like this guy needs to be forced to sell any foreign investments. Why the hell does a foreign gov't owns Hotels in other countries anyway ?
  • Penguin - 4/4/2019 1:15:52 PM
    I think it is absolutely disgusting that this uber rich country can get away with this. UN should do something, yes, but so should the rest of the world. And then you sit back and wonder why people no longer want to go to Islamic countries. No telling what you would be in trouble for. And who has time to investigate these countries's laws prior to travel. What ever happened to our dream of one world! Not going to happen with laws like this. My heart goes out to the people of Brunei and other Islamic countries who practice Sharia law. Shame on you!
  • kat - 4/4/2019 2:23:14 PM
    Muslims wanting sharia law let them go to Brunei and stay. Karen you've got it wrong. Go live in Brunei under Sharia see how it works for you as a woman.
  • Alexis - 4/4/2019 3:37:25 PM
    celebrities are the only ones that can afford to use this hotels .And why democratic governments allows repressive dictatorships to buy properties on free and liberals soils ,is that because money can by you anything?
  • nancy - 4/4/2019 7:27:34 PM
    Clooney must be hard up for recognition lately. Is this latest all he has to do during daily living.?
  • Jude - 4/5/2019 12:41:32 AM
    There is still a problem with boycotting just the hotels. The celebrities are willing to boycott the hotels. Good, but, some of their oil is sold to North America, so how upset are they going to be about only having the 9 hotels boycotted? To truly boycott them, you have to hit it where it really hurts them. Boycott their oil and the hotels! That will really hit them hard. If nobody goes to their hotels, meh, it's not too bad a punishment. Boycott their oil and you'll have them by the balls.
  • Bob - 4/5/2019 8:28:38 AM
    Wow! Talk about retrograding back into barbaric times. Don’t anyone take the hotel’s little bars of soap or shampoo. You’ll have your hands cut off. They forgot to include beheading in their primitive barbaric mentality. I guess they could use this form of punishment if you check out late. Everyone should be boycotting these hotels, not just celebrities.
  • Alan - 4/5/2019 10:28:50 AM
    I am not sure why Clooney & Company are upset! Muslims want to live according to the teachings of the "Holy" Qur'an. I think they are just being Islamophobic! After all, they don't have an issue with filling up their gas tanks with Saudi Oil! The Saudis have been living and practicing what Mohamed, their "prophet," has prescribed for a long time! Anyways, these actors are big time hypocrites. Always virtue signalling! All Islamic countries pretty much live according to those rules! Nothing will change Clooney!

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