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International Women's Media Foundation Boycotts Beverly Hills Hotel Over Brunei's Shariah Law
The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has joined the growing boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel, pulling its Courage in Journalism Awards ceremony from the famed venue. The move is in response to the fact that the hotel is owned by the Sultan of Brunei, where the country has implemented Islamic Sharia law that would allow for LGBT people to be stoned to death. The law will also allow for public floggings, fines, and jail time for "indecent behavior", failure to attend Friday prayers, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies. Women who commit adultery can also be stoned to death, but presumably not men … unless they cheer on their wife with another man.
“We, the IWMF, can no longer hold an event at a venue whose owner stands for the violation of the very human rights we fight for,” said Elisa Lees Muñoz, Executive Director of the IWMF, wrote in a statement. “As a consequence to the introduction of Sharia law in Brunei, we have decided to cancel our contract with the Beverly Hills Hotel and move this year's Courage Awards to another location.”
IWMF, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, “honors women journalists who set themselves apart by their extraordinary bravery, speaking truth to power in oppressive environments, and continuing to report under dangerous circumstances,” according to a release. In the past the annual awards ceremony has draw hundreds of big names including hosts and presenters Angelina Jolie, Meg Ryan, Renee Zellweger, Maria Shriver, Sharon Stone, Olivia Wilde, and Christiane Amanpour.
Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah also happens to own the Dorchester Collection, which runs 10 luxury hotels around the world — two of which are based right in Los Angeles.
Ellen DeGeneres has already tweeted that she will not set foot in the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air, both Dorchester properties, until this is resolved — meaning until the homophobic autocrat sells the properties. Gay and feminist groups have already pulled out of events at the hotel, while Sharon Osbourne and British actor-writer Stephen Fry have said they will not patronize the sultan's businesses.
On Monday demonstrators protested in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel, and attendees included the likes of Jay Leno — though our activist hearts were much more set aflutter by seeing Dolores Huerta and Robin Tyler among the group of fierce feminists speaking out to tell the sultan what he hasn't been willing to hear.
Hotel management has thus far been suspiciously silent in response to calls to condemn the clearly discriminatory law, and the Dorchester CEO actually had the gall to tell CNN that he was feeling "bullied" by those calling for a boycott.
