While few of us are wealthy enough to actively participate in a boycott of the fancy-schmacy luxury hotels owned by the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, whose country newly implemented a law punishing gay sex with death by stoning, we can certainly flood the hotels’ social media accounts decrying the new law.
Fearing this, the hotels have apparently deleted their social media accounts. The Hill reports:
The Dorchester Collection, which is owned by the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, and operates the five-star hotels, issued a statement on Twitter saying it has deactivated the pages “due to the personal abuse directed at our employees.”
“Dorchester Collection is an inclusive and diverse company and does not tolerate any form of discrimination,” the statement reads.
Out reports that 8 of the 10 properties owned by the Sultan removed their Twitter accounts on Wednesday, the day the stoning law went into effect.
Related: The LGBT Leader Who Refuses To Boycott The Sultan Of Brunei’s Death Sentence For Gays
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It’s just the latest development in a growing outcry against Brunei’s brutal, homophobic law.
Celebrities like George Clooney, Elton John, Jaime Lee Curtis, Rufus Wainright, Ellen DeGeneres and Dua Lipa have all called for boycotts of the Sultan’s properties. Los Angeles city leaders and anti-LGBTQ Republican Senator Ted Cruz support the boycott, even though it’ll undoubtedly affect American workers (including hairdressers, laments Queer Eyes‘ Jonathan Van Ness).
Brunei has defended its laws saying that it will “deter” people from anti-Islamic acts and adding that his “sweet” and “friendly” country will offer travelers a “safe and harmonious welcome” (emphasis on the harm). Islamic scholars have called the laws a gross, extremist distortion of Islamic law.
London commuters have railed against tourism ads calling Brunei an “abode of peace.” After complaints, the ads were eventually scrapped. Londoners will protest the law this weekend. England-based Virgin Airlines has also dropped a Brunei airlines from serving its customers any longer.
U.N. Human Rights Chief Michele Bachelet called the law “a serious setback to human rights,” Germany has protested to Brunei’s envoy, and the U.S. State Department has issued a general statement saying that they oppose violent laws against LGBTQ people while not mentioning Brunei specifically. Trump has said nothing (unsurprisingly). Neither has Australia’s prime minister.
In light of the law, two Democratic Congresspeople have introduced legislation that would reinstate a federal position to help promote LGBTQ rights abroad.
Meanwhile, pundits like Bill Maher, Andrew Sullivan and S.E. Cupp has all called the hotel boycott “chickensh*t tokenism” and Australia’s federal travel hotline has been telling tourists that they’ll be okay in Brunei as long as they “act straight.”
Vince
Tin pot ruler of a shithole country that got oil rich lucky.
DCguy
The Dorchester Hotels including the Beverley Hills Hotel have been boycotted for a few years because the Sultan has been pushing the “Kill the Gays” law for a while. It’s a shame major media ignored it until George Clooney spoke out.
voyy
I’d be afraid to stay at a hotel even if I was a rich rightest for fear the hotels might be fire-traps.
winemaker
Time to give this anti gay SHITBAG a taste of his own medicine with a total world BOYCOTT of all brunei businesses and holdings. This also means here in the USA, a public listing of businesses with ties to this bastard and a freeze of all brunei assets in banks and investment houses here in the USA. Kind of like what we did to iran in 1981 with the hostahe crisis. if this bastard starving, he can eat SHIT but probably won’t as it isn’t hallall
draven
I wouldn’t go to any of these places if someone paid for them for me I hate hotels anyway because they have shady stuff and you never know with their door and also that ruler is miserable tired and just horrible with people money and there’s a lot of people like that in the world now days they have money but they’re horrible people and they’re miserable so too bad for them weren’t the GLAAD gay awards held at one of those hotels recently what’s up with that really. NEVER Never travel or go to any of these places if I want to go away I’ll go away in my mind or on the computer and look at these places that way as far as ever going to any of them places Big no! Seriously gay stop giving these bums your time and money. Don’t spend your money at any establishment in USA where vile work and own. There goes my gas stations corner stores restaurants establishments etc. etc. etc. do not give these people your money do not go to these places were evil by old people work or make money it’s not worth it and most of them stand for laws like this so they don’t care about us all I really know is they don’t really care about us “you know who said that. MJ.
draven
Excuse typos that were generated in my last text by computer. Didn’t feel like editing it. That’s for the grammar police on internet. Their dumb too.
draven
That dude looks like Mickey Mouse on crack specially with those ears
Creamsicle
Cool. People were commenting on their social media pages. How about we start demanding sanctions and cut off all imports of luxury goods to Brunei, expediting asylum claims to LGBTQ Bruneians, and divesting from every company affiliated with the Sultan? Who am I kidding? This guy probably has his wealth hidden away in so many places that even HE couldn’t tell you where it all is. That’s too much money not to try and get some of it for ourselves, no matter how many people are brutally murdered by mob violence.
abslove
Punishment to death by stoning?
It’s all barbarous
dwes09
Their Facebook tourism page is still up. and it easy to post nasty remarks there.
But they are 10 other countries with similar laws, some of which have actually stoned gay people to death, or hanged them.
The list is on Wikipedia.
No reason to buy imports from or ever visit these places.