George Clooney Calls for Boycott of Hotels Owned by Sultan of Brunei

George Clooney is calling for the immediate boycott of all nine hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, including the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air.

The Oscar-winning actor is protesting the country of Brunei’s imminent legalization of laws that will allow violence against the LGBTQ community.

“On this particular April 3rd the nation of Brunei will begin stoning and whipping to death any of its citizens that are proved to be gay. Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone,” George wrote in an op-ed piece for Deadline.

George notes that Brunei only has a population of 500,000 people, but it’s the 5th richest nation in the world because of oil. The Sultan of Brunei is one of the richest men in the world and he owns the Brunei Investment Agency, which owns a roster of hotels.

“They own nine of the most exclusive hotels in the world. Full disclosure: I’ve stayed at many of them, a couple of them recently, because I hadn’t done my homework and didn’t know who owned them,” George wrote. “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.”

There was a boycott of the hotels several years ago and many celebrities stopped going to them for some time, but the outrage died down and the hotels slowly were back in business. George is hoping that people will once again boycott the hotels.