George Clooney, Elton John & many other celebrities and human rights activists are trying to spotlight awareness to avoid hotels owned by anti-LGBT Sovereign of Brunei –
Together we are asking you to boycott 9 hotels – including The Beverly Hills Hotel in L.A. & The Dorchester in London – that
Brunei’s law in his country allows
people “found guilty” of being gay to be stoned by death. Not to mention that his current laws allow women to be whipped in public and that marital rape is legal.Several Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia also adhere to what is called “the sharia law”. But Brunei will be the first country in East and Southeast Asia to have a sharia penal code at the national level.
This is a serious human rights issue & we need everyone (no matter LGBTQ or straight) to stand up and not be silent about
I know… this can be a lot to handle, but it’s important you know & others know that money going into these establishments (hotel stays, brunches, event parties, etc.) is essentially blood money fueling these human rights violations.
From Beverly Hills to Rome, there are currently 9 hotels to avoid that are owned by “The Sultan of Brunei”. Yes, Sultan… aka the King/Sovereign of Brunei.
These hotels have been funding LGBTQ people to be tortured in Brunei & now killed. Please boycott & avoid booking these 9 hotels!
Also, call out influencers & celebrities who are posting pics of the hotels “for the gram” or they’re being paid by the hotels to promote them as “the best hotel in the world” or “OMG the brunch here is the absolute best”. Do you know what’s not the best? Funding human rights violations.
The full story on boycotting Brunei’s Hotels is below.
List of Luxury Hotels Owned By The Sultan of Brunei:
Why Boycott & Avoid The Hotels Owned By The Sultan of Brunei?
The Sultan of Brunei’s law to kill people to death by stoning & whipping for homosexual acts will take effect April 3, 2019, according to CNN. And by staying at any of his 9 hotels, you are funding him & his country of Brunei to murder LGBTQ+ people.
Now, I know there’s more we can do than boycott these 9 hotels. This situation isn’t simple; it’s not black and white with an easy solution. Especially since most of the Sultan’s filthy rich income comes from the Oil industry and those who buy his oil (that’s a whole another story).
However, baby steps in activism are important to start a movement; just like the fight for equality over the years. Boycotting these hotels and urging others not to stay or promote these hotels (I’m looking at you Instagram “influencers”) are baby steps in making a difference. Also, the last time these hotels were boycotted, they sent signals to the Sultan of the issue.
But what about the staff
Actually, no! The last time people boycotted the Sultan of Brunei’s hotels (yes this isn’t the first time), nobody lost their jobs. In fact, he paid all of his staff full rates and even sent some on vacation until the last boycott was over.
I stayed at a hotel & posted my cute
Doesn’t matter… he’s been owning the hotels for years now & has been torturing women and gays for a while now too. It’s your call to remove your photos or use them & your voice to inform others not to stay at any of his hotels.
But the brunch at The Beverly Hills Hotel is so good…
I don’t care how good the brunch or $33 chopped salad is! Find a brunch spot who’s owners support women’s rights & LGBTQ rights.
If you care about equality & human rights, you can’t be silent about this issue.
Please tell everyone you know to boycott these hotel establishments owned by Brunei. If you need a good deed of the day, sharing this news is it.
Feel free to share this article or others. I don’t care, as long as people are informed.
So Gays Are Being Killed in Brunei?
Yep. It’s already illegal to be gay there, but the new laws make it punishable by death. A few years ago, the sultan announced he would install this strict version of Islamic law. And now, they will take effect.
Friendly Reminder: As of now, being gay is still illegal in 73 countries.
There’s also many other countries not included in the 73 countries above that would be considered unsafe for LGBT people, despite not having specific laws in place to kill or torture gays. *cough* Russia.
Where is Brunei?
Brunei is a small oil-rich kingdom in southeast Asia near Malaysia with a population of approx 450,000 people; most of whom are Muslim.
This is awful – what can I do to help?
Well, first join me & other celebrities boycott all Brunei-owned hotels over this anti-LGBT law. Then spread the news to your friends & family. Raise any awareness you can.
Copy the URL to this article & message people this article or share on social.
Let everyone in your network know to avoid these hotels!
How To Boycott Brunei-Owned Hotels & Support LGBTQ Rights
Quick Steps to Boycott Brunei’s Hotels & Support LGBT+ People
Screenshot & Share
Step 1: Please Boycott Brunei’s hotels & share this article. We need as many people to boycott to signal to the Sultan we won’t be silent.
Step 2: Call out influencers or celebrities who promote these hotels. They are influencing thousands of people to stay and probably being paid to promote with blood money.
Step 3: Contact your local MPs and get world leaders to speak up about this issue. Call on your country’s representatives to speak up & take action.
Step 4: Donate to
helping LGBTQ people in danger. Rainbow Railroad is my #1 choice as they help LGBTQ refugees seek a better life in Canada. orgs
Explanation of the Steps to Boycott Brunei’s Hotels & Support The Cause:
- Step 1: Boycott these hotels and Share this article. Or just share the news in however you want to share. I’m not monetizing this blog or trying to get “hits” – I’m just using my platform to raise awareness to my readers and followers to have as much information to make an informed decision on what to do.
Again, stay far away from any hotel venue owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, a company owned by the Sultan of Brunei. He’s apparently building a 10th hotel, so take note, or come back here for future updates
- Step 2: You should also inform and call out influencers or celebrities for
staying / posting at any of those 9 hotels as well. They need to acknowledge that these luxury 5-star hotels are owned by a man that has laws sentencing LGBTQ people to death and allows women to be publicly tortured.
It’s so important to kindly call people out and make sure they acknowledge what’s going on. Some may have no clue about the situation, while others are well-aware & do nothing about it.
For example, not too long ago LGBTQ+ Celebrities and “activists” were called out for not only partying at one of the hotels in London but were partying with the Son of the Sultan of Brunei himself. One of them has now apologized & removed their photo at the Sultan’s son birthday party.
Furthermore, some of these hotel venues make HUGE money from weddings & corporate events organized by trade associations, media, and businesses. It’s worth putting pressure on those companies to remind them of their social responsibilities. If you google the name of a hotel and ‘industry award ceremony’ you get a clearer picture. In case anyone wanted to know
- Step 3: Contact your local MP or someone in your government who could make an impact and get politicians involved in the human rights violations happening in Brunei.
The next thing you could do is get world leaders to speak up & not let this go unchallenged. Call on your country’s representatives to speak up & take action.
Germany’s foreign ministry protested the plan and appealed to Brunei’s ambassador to “abide by existing international human rights obligations”.
Australia’s foreign minister also said she raised concerns with the Brunei government: “Australia has raised our concerns with the Brunei government on the introduction of the full Syariah Penal Code today. We absolutely oppose the death penalty & are committed to the rights of LGBTI people. We will continue to advocate for human rights in the region & beyond.“
Many leaders are already speaking on the issue and I urge you to do what you can in your country to get leaders to speak about the issue.
- Step 4: I don’t expect you to fly to Brunei and protest human rights. But if you really want to help make a difference to LGBT people in Brunei, work with and donate to LGBT organizations who are helping evacuate LGBT refugees from danger.
I highly recommend donating to Rainbow Railroad. They help LGBTQ people around the world who are in danger seek refuge in Canada. I’ve donated and have also worked on campaigns with my sponsors to raise money for them.
What are Celebrities saying about Boycotting Brunei Hotels?
George Clooney was one of the first non-LGBT celebrities to acknowledge & bring a huge spotlight to what the Sultan of Brunei is doing and has been boycotting for a while now. He recently stated:
“Every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery.
Brunei is a Monarchy and certainly, any boycott would have little effect on changing these laws. But are we really going to help pay for these human rights violations? Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?”
Many celebrities including Elton John and Ellen Degeneres are boycotting and asking others to join the boycott. Unfortunately, none of them are doing more than just tweeting or talking with journalists about boycotting. They should all be being advocates by urging people to do more than boycott since boycotting alone will not stop the Sultan of Brunei.
Which is why I urge everyone to do the steps above, especially more than Steps 1 & 2.
If you’re an #LGBTQ ally or care about human rights, please don’t stand by in silence while LGBTQ people like me are getting stoned to death. Please Boycott Brunei Hotels & share the news to raise awareness.
Also, contact the best representatives or leaders in your country. It’s important to voice your opinion to help me save other women and LGBTQ people from torture & death. And most importantly, support and donate whatever you can afford to donate to LGBTQ organizations helping LGBTQ people in danger seek refuge.
Feel free to connect with me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter!
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Ryan Thomas Woods is the voice behind Out With Ryan. He’s an LGBTQ+ Activist & Travel writer for this website and many other publications. He was recently voted 2018’s Travel Influencer of Year in Canada and dedicated the award to all LGBTQ+ travelers making the world a better & safer space for our community, as he strives to do on his website & social platforms.
