Hollywood stars boycott Beverly Hills Hotel over Brunei’s new laws
Nine events have been pulled from the high-end hotel after Sharia law took effect in the Asian country.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, May 6, 2014, 2:28 PM
Valerie Macon/WireImage Comedian Jay Leno is one of the celebrities protesting Sharia law in Brunei by boycotting hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei.
Nine entertainment industry-related events have been pulled from the
Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air, both owned by the Brunei
Investment Agency, in protest over the sultanate’s enactment of Islamic
criminal law.
The bookings at the Southern California properties, part of the
Dorchester Collection of luxury hotels, were each expected to draw at
least 150 people, and three similar events at properties in Europe also
were withdrawn, according to Dorchester Chief Executive Officer
Christopher Cowdray.
Islamic criminal law took effect in Brunei last week, and the penal
code eventually will include death by stoning for rape, adultery and
sodomy. The United Nations has criticized the code, saying it contains
provisions that violate the rights to freedom of religion, opinion and
expression. The Motion Picture & Television Fund may move its Night
Before the Oscars fund-raiser from the Beverly Hills Hotel next year if
the law isn’t changed, according to Andy Gelb, a fund spokesman.
I won't be visiting the Hotel Bel-Air or the Beverly Hills Hotel until this is resolved. http://t.co/RqQrLBK4EJ
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) April 22, 2014
“We cannot condone or tolerate these harsh and repressive laws and as a
result support a business owned by the Sultan of Brunei or a Brunei
sovereign fund associated with the government of Brunei,” fund Chairman
Bob Pisano, Vice Chairman Mark Fleischer and CEO Bob Beitcher said in a
statement.
Among the events moved from the Beverly Hills Hotel was the Feminist
Majority Foundation’s Global Women’s Rights Awards, scheduled for last
night. Former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno and his wife, Mavis, are
co-chairmen of the awards.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images The
new Brunei penal code includes the stoning to death of gay men and
lesbians, and the public flogging of women who have abortions.
The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air, 3 miles to the west, are
the Dorchester Collection’s only U.S. properties. The chain also
includes such properties as the Hotel Athenee Paris and the Dorchester
in London.
“We have a truly global economy today,” Cowdray said in an interview
yesterday at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “Look at all the foreign
investments in hotels and real estate. Our hotels are autonomously run
and in that way not tied to Brunei. Religious or political views have no
place in our organization.”
No @Virgin employee, nor our family, will stay at Dorchester Hotels until the Sultan abides by basic human rights http://t.co/k1hMHAS5ft
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) May 3, 2014
Dorchester Collection executives are talking to media and industry
leaders, and its employees have volunteered to be part of a video
portraying the hotels’ integrity that will be posted on the company’s
website, Cowdray said. Dorchester also is monitoring and responding to
Twitter messages.
Among those who have posted on the social media website about the issue
are Virgin Group Ltd. founder Richard Branson, who said employees and
family members wouldn’t stay at Dorchester hotels until “the Sultan
abides by basic human rights,” and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, who
last month tweeted, “I won’t be visiting the Hotel Bel-Air or the
Beverly Hills Hotel until this is resolved.”
Valerie Macon/WireImage Actress Frances Fisher (center) and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta protest Brunei’s penal code.
Cowdray said he expects the two Dorchester hotels in the Los Angeles
area to maintain their average annual occupancy of 80%. Nightly rates
start at $450 at the Beverly Hills Hotel and $495 at the Hotel Bel-Air
this week, according to their websites.
Cowdray said he doesn’t expect the Dorchester Collection to have any
problems adding a property in New York because of the controversy. The
company owned the New York Palace Hotel before selling it to Northwood
Investors LLC in May 2011 and is seeking a new hotel in the city,
according to Cowdray.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he said. “It’s unprecedented in great part because of the social media aspect.”
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