The legendary Elton John is joining the boycott against hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei.
The boycott was initiated by fellow celebrity George Clooney in response to Brunei implementing a law that could lead to the stoning of gay people.
In a series of tweets written by Elton John on March 30, he commended his friend Clooney for calling for a boycott of the hotels. Previously, Clooney called for the boycott in an op-ed on Deadline.com.
The Sultan of Brunei, whose actual name is Hassanal Bolkiah, is the absolute ruler of the country, and he is implementing the law so that his country could conform to a strict interpretation of Sharia law that is not tolerant of gay rights.
The hotels in question are owned by The Brunei Investment Agency, which is controlled in its entirety by the sultan.
John, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1998 not only for his contributions to music but also for his charitable works, called for the boycott in spite of recognizing the harm that it could cause for innocent employees of the hotels, many of which could be gay themselves. But he insisted that it was important to send a message that actions such as those being taken by Brunei are not acceptable.
John added that he and his husband have long boycotted Brunei-owned hotels.
The musician also provided his Twitter followers with a list of 45 hotels to boycott. These include the following:
- The Dorchester (London)
- The Beverly Hills Hotel (Beverly Hills)
- The Hotel Bel-Air (Los Angeles)
- Le Meurice (Paris)
- Hotel Plaza Athenee (Paris)
- Hotel Eden (Rome)
- Hotel Principe di Savoia (Milan)
Elton John, who is 72, has made more than 30 albums in his long and storied career. He has also sold more than 300 million records and has had in excess of 50 Top 40 songs.