Real Time host Bill Maher blasted George Clooney‘s call for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei as ‘chicken s**t tokenism.’
Clooney called for a boycott of nine hotels in the U.S. and Europe with ties to the sultan of Brunei, which next month will implement Islamic criminal laws to punish gay sex by stoning offenders to death.
The Hollywood actor wrote Thursday in Deadline Hollywood: ‘Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?’
Real Time host Bill Maher, (right), blasted George Clooney, (left), for calling for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, calling the move ‘chicken s**t tokenism’
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, (pictured), rules Brunei and owns nine hotels in the U.S. and Europe
He wrote that ‘you can’t shame murderous regimes,’ but you can shame ‘the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them.’
However during a ‘Real Time’ panel discussion, Maher said Clooney’s call for a boycott ‘really bothered’ him.
‘It’s chickens**t tokenism,’ Maher said. ‘What about Saudi Arabia? If you really want to get back to them, stop driving, don’t use oil.
‘It’s Sharia Law, which is some version of the law in most Muslim-majority countries,’ Maher continued.
‘And if you want to be against that, you know, speak openly and honestly about standing up for liberal principles.’
The HBO star added that liberal activist Clooney is a ‘really smart guy’ who knows about problems in the Middle East,
However he added that the Oscar-winner’s ‘virtue signaling’ ultimately won’t make an impact.
‘This idea that the Sultan of Brunei is going over the receipts from the Polo Lounge. ‘Oh no, we only sold two soups today,’ Maher claimed.
Panelist S.E. Cupp, a CNN host, called Clooney ‘hypocritical’ and claimed that Hollywood does ‘a ton of business’ with the United Arab Emirates, whose regime has been criticized in the past.
Clooney, pictured with his wife Amal at a charity gala earlier this month, went on to say that at ‘the head of it all is the Sultan of Brunei who is one of the richest men in the world’
Bill Maher, (left), and panelist S.E. Cupp, (right), called out Cooney and called him hypocritical
In his piece Clooney said: ‘On this particular April 3rd the nation of Brunei will begin stoning and whipping to death any of its citizens that are proved to be gay.
‘Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone,’ he added.
Clooney went on to say that at ‘the head of it all is the Sultan of Brunei who is one of the richest men in the world’.
Clooney admitted that he’s stayed at most of the nine hotels, but noted it was ‘because I hadn’t done my homework and didn’t know who owned them’.
‘They’re nice hotels. The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties.
Clooney admitted that he’s stayed at most of the nine hotels, but noted it was ‘because I hadn’t done my homework.’ The sultan owns The Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles (pictured)
The sultan also owns The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles (pictured) and is extremely rich
‘But let’s be clear, 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.
Clooney wrote that he’s ‘learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can’t shame them’.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah rules the oil-rich monarchy with full executive authority, and the hotels are owned by the Brunei Investment Agency. An email seeking comment was sent to the agency Friday.
The hotels are The Dorchester and Coworth Park in the U.K.; Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles; Le Meurice and Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris; Hotel Eden in Rome; and Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan.
The Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air are part of the Dorchester Collection, owned by a wing of the Brunei government referred to as the Brunei Investment Agency.
Clooney said that ‘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’. The Coworth Park hotel (pictured) is located in the UK
Clooney said he’s ‘learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can’t shame them’. ‘But you can shame the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way.’ Pictured is the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan
Le Meurice in Paris (pictured) is also owned by the sultan of Brunei
They owned nine high-end hotels worldwide.
A representative for the hotel told Fox News: ‘Dorchester Collection’s Code emphasizes equality, respect, and integrity in all areas of our operation, and strongly values people and cultural diversity amongst our guests and employees.’
Brunei has defended its right to implement Islamic laws that would allow death by stoning for adultery and homosexuality against growing global criticism.
Brunei, a Muslim-majority former British protectorate with a population of around 400,000, will implement the Sharia laws from April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalty, including by stoning, and theft with amputation.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, is the world’s second-longest reigning monarch and is prime minister of the oil-rich country. He ranks as one of the world’s wealthiest people.
Brunei, which neighbours two Malaysian states on Borneo island, already enforces Islamic teachings more strictly than Malaysia and Indonesia, the other majority Muslim countries in southeast Asia. The sale of alcohol is banned and evangelism by other religions is forbidden.
The country does not hold elections, but any discontent is assuaged with generous government polices including zero taxes, subsidized housing, and free healthcare and education.
The expected implementation of the strict Islamic laws has drawn widespread criticism. Politicians in Europe and the United States have attacked the plans and raised concerns with Brunei.
‘Stoning people to death for homosexuality or adultery is appalling and immoral,’ former U.S. vice president Joe Biden said in a Twitter post on Friday.
‘There is no excuse – not culture, not tradition – for this kind of hate and inhumanity.’
