Elton John is voicing support for George Clooney’s call to boycott hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei because of a planned law in which the southeast Asia country would punish homosexual sex and adultery with death.
“Discrimination on the basis of sexuality is plain wrong and has no place in any society,” John said in a statement Saturday. “That’s why I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand and calling out the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry now being enshrined in law in the nation of Brunei, a place where gay people are brutalized or worse.”
In a guest column Clooney wrote for Deadline Thursday, he called for the boycott of nine hotels — including Hotel Bel-Air and The Beverly Hills Hotel — owned by the Sultan of Brunei’s Brunei Investment Agency. Clooney cited a new Brunei law in which anyone “found guilty” of homosexual sex or adultery will be stoned to death. CNN reported said it will take effect Wednesday.
The Brunei embassy in Washington D.C. did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment Saturday.
John said that he and his husband David Furnish have stayed in many of the Sultan’s properties, which they now find “impossible to visit since the Sultan’s plan to push for shar’ia law in Brunei became public.”
John added: “We recognise that sovereign countries will make decisions for their own citizens. But we feel we must send a message, however we can, that such treatment is unacceptable. We must never underestimate the power of our voices — and our actions — to spark the change we need to see.”
Read John’s complete statement below:
“I believe that love is love and being able to love as we choose is a basic human right. Wherever we go, my husband David and I deserve to be treated with dignity and respect – as do each and every one of the millions of LGBTQ+ people around the world.
Discrimination on the basis of sexuality is plain wrong and has no place in any society. That’s why I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand and calling out the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry now being enshrined in law in the nation of Brunei, a place where gay people are brutalized or worse. As George has said, the Sultan of Brunei owns many luxury hotels around the world – hotels which David and I have found it impossible to visit since the Sultan’s plan to push for shar’ia law in Brunei became public. Our hearts go out to the good, hardworking employees of these properties, many of whom we know to be gay.
We recognise that sovereign countries will make decisions for their own citizens. But we feel we must send a message, however we can, that such treatment is unacceptable. We must never underestimate the power of our voices – and our actions – to spark the change we need to see.”