Wall Street businesses have joined calls for a boycott of certain hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei over the nation’s new anti-LGBTQ laws.
Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan and CitiGroup, among others, have all announced that they no longer allow employees to stay at hotels owned by the so-called Dorchester Collection. That includes hotels like Los Angeles’ Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air, and London’s Dorchester and 45 Park Lane.
Related: Shell Oil under scrutiny for doing business in anti-gay Brunei
“The new laws introduced by Brunei breach the most basic human rights, and we believe it is our duty as a firm to take action against them,” said Stuart Lewis, chief risk officer at Deutsche Bank, one of the financial institutions joining the boycott. “We are proud to support LGBTIQ rights around the world, and as part of this we regularly review our business partnerships to ensure that they are aligned with this principle.”
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Of course, the relatively low-impact decision to join the boycott could also be interpreted as an easy PR move for an industry that’s widely seen as lacking empathy, but we suppose it’s slightly better than nothing.
The announcement that Brunei had passed laws that would punish LGBTQ people with death sparked immediate and wide outrage within the international community. The United Nations condemned the move, while celebrities like George Clooney, Elton John, and Ellen DeGeneres have all publicly denounced the laws and encouraged fans to boycott Brunei-owned hotels. The Sultan of Brunei has praised the laws for strengthening Islamic rule in the country, though his own son is thought to be gay himself.
DCguy
Wow, and only WAAAAAAY after everybody else. Better late than never.
Wicked Dickie
Isn’t it funny that a country that most people wouldn’t be able to find on the map owns 5 star hotels in some of the major cities of the world?
Danbie
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Creamsicle
So when are they going to divest from all of the Sultan’s financial interests?
Spoiler alert: They won’t.
Invader7
It’s about damn time..
Chevelter
The Beverly Hills Hotel has a very high percentage of gay staff. The hotel has also historically been a great friend of our community, contributing facilities and money, and recognizing gay partnerships with health insurance before same sex marriage was legal. So yeah, boycott it.
Daggerman
..what is wrong with him? This president is saying he doesn’t have an asshole…basically. He far too ashamed to admit the basics of life. And it is NORMAL for a man to insert his penis into another man’s asshole. Some people are really in need of growing up, excepting the ‘reality’ of life and human nature, so he must be got rid of…what a shame……eh…