Ellen DeGeneres Joins Boycott Of Dorchester Collection Hotel Chain Over Brunei's Anti-Gay Penal Code

The Gay Reason That Ellen DeGeneres And Other Celebs Are Boycotting The Beverly Hills Hotel
HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 02: Host Ellen DeGeneres speaks onstage during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 02: Host Ellen DeGeneres speaks onstage during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Ellen DeGeneres minced few words when it came to Brunei's controversial new penal code which includes capital punishment for same-sex acts.

The media icon, 56, tweeted her plans to boycott the Dorchester Collection, a Brunei-owned luxury hotel chain whose U.S. properties include the Hotel Bel-Air and the Beverly Hills Hotel, in response to the news, the London Evening Standard and other media outlets reported.

The star joins British comic Stephen Fry and designers Brian Atwood and Peter Som in expressing her distaste for the new code, which had been slated to take effect April 22, according to Gay Asia News and other media outlets.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the hotel chain, which is owned by the Sultan of Brunei, released a statement to WWD, saying that officials had "no involvement in this religious and political issue.”

“We continue to abide by the laws of the countries we operate in and do not tolerate any form of discrimination of any kind," the spokesperson added, according to the report. "The laws that exist in other countries outside of where Dorchester Collection operates do not affect the policies that govern how we run our hotels."

Before You Go

Oreo

25 LGBT-Friendly Products & Companies Targeted By Boycotters

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot