Appearing on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime
talk show, actor George Clooney credited the banks for Brunei's
decision not to enforce the death penalty for gay sex.
The oil-rich Southeast Asian nation
began enforcing a penal code based on Sharia law on April 3. The laws
punish gay sex and adultery with death by stoning.
Clooney was the first celebrity to call
for a boycott of the nine hotels owned by Hassanal Bolkiah, the
Sultan of Brunei. Two of the properties are located in California.
Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John and Billie Jean King joined Clooney.
Large corporations such as JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank also backed the
boycott.
“When the banks and when the
financial institutions started saying 'We're out of the Brunei
business,' then [Bolkiah] backed off and said put a moratorium on
it,” Clooney said.
“It's not fixed yet but it's a huge
step forward after this giant leap backward.”
Clooney said that the boycott “sends
a warning shot over to countries like Indonesia and Malaysia who are
also considering these laws.”
“That the businesspeople, the big
banks, those guys are going to say don't need to get into that
business, that's the reason to do it,” he added.