Elton John and George Clooney Call for Hollywood Boycott

Elton John answered the call put out by actor George Clooney to boycott any of the fancy establishments owned by the Sultan of Brunei, who, with an estimated worth of 20 billion, is one of the world’s wealthiest royals. The repeat of the boycott is in response to the sultan deciding to implement harsher components of Sharia Law, which includes stoning or whipping to death those who engage in homosexual relationships.

On Saturday, the “Rocket Man” singer tweeted out his support for the boycott of the hotels owned by Brunei’s holding company, which includes the exclusive Beverly Hills Hotel, Hotel Bel-Air, and The Dorchester.

“I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of Brunei – a place where gay people are brutalized, or worse – by boycotting the sultan’s hotels,” Elton John said in one of a series of tweets.

“Our hearts go out to the good, hardworking employees of properties owned by the Sultan of Brunei, many of whom we know to be gay,” he continued.

“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.”

The Hollywood boycott of The Beverly Hills Hotel started five years ago.

Elton John and others in Hollywood, including Ellen Degeneres, have boycotted the Beverly Hills Hotel after it was discovered the Sultan of Brunei had acquired the swanky establishment.

Clooney also called for the boycotting of eight other hotels in the United States and Europe that are owned by Brunei.

“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,” Clooney wrote in Deadline on March 28.

HBO’s Bill Maher calls the boycott “chickens—t tokenism.”

However, some in the media and Hollywood have called the boycott a token measure that in reality does nothing to punish or change the mind of leaders in countries enforcing Sharia Law.

On HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher pointed out that Saudi Arabia is far more powerful and influential on the international stage, and yet Clooney and Elton John aren’t calling for people to stop driving and using Saudi oil.

“It’s Sharia Law, which is some version of the law in most Muslim-majority countries,” Maher said. “And if you want to be against that, you know, speak openly and honestly about standing up for liberal principles.”

“This idea that the Sultan of Brunei is going over the receipts from the Polo Lounge .. ‘Oh no, we only sold two soups today,’” Maher commented.

CNN’s S.E. Cupp also pointed out that Hollywood does plenty of business with the United Arab Emirates, which despite being considered more Westernized, continues to be criticized for its enforcement of regressive Sharia components upon its citizens.

Of course, boycotting a small number of hotels and their restaurants is much easier to do and grandstand about without affecting Clooney’s or Elton John’s life much. After all, there are plenty of hotels clamoring to be the preferred stop of the Hollywood elite. Not using Saudi oil or doing business with the U.A.E. is a little too inconvenient for the jet setting Hollywood class, clearly. What’s a moral, anyway, right?