Singer Miley Cyrus, actor Ashton
Kutcher and Broadway star Audra McDonald are among the celebrities
criticizing Indiana Governor Mike Pence for signing a bill opponents
say discriminates against gays.
Pence, a Republican, signed the bill on
Thursday. It prohibits any state and local laws that “substantially
burden” a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs.
A “person” is defined as an individual, religious institution,
business or association.
(Related: Indiana
Gov. Mike Pence signs bill allowing businesses to refuse to serve
gays.)
Opponents argue that such broad
religious protections will allow business owners opposed to
homosexuality based on their religious beliefs to refuse service to
gay men and lesbians.
“You're an a**hole @govpenceIN,”
the 22-year-old Cyrus captioned a photo of Pence on Instagram. “The
only place that has more idiots than Instagram is in politics.”
Kutcher also tweeted his disapproval:
“Indiana are you also going to allow Christian establishments to
ban Jews from coming in? Or vice versa? Religious freedom???”
McDonald, a six-time Tony winner,
messaged that the bill takes Indiana back to the 1950s.
“On the phone w/@united
so long I forgot what year it was, then saw the law Indiana Gov.
Pence just signed & remembered … It's 1950 #NOHATE,” she
tweeted.
(Related: Salesforce
CEO Marc Benioff moves event out of Indiana over anti-gay bill.)