A top Aussie hotel once favoured by Elton John is now at the centre of a major controversy sweeping the world, which has seen celebrities including George Clooney, Ellen Degeneres and Elton himself calling for a boycott.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF ANGRY HOTEL PROTEST BELOW
Brisbane’s Royal on The Park is reportedly owned by the Sultan of Brunei, whose deeply conservative country has just brought in a raft of new laws, including death by stoning for gay sex.
The changes have prompted a call by top stars for the public to boycott any hotels owned by the Sultan, including such landmark properties as the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Dorchester in London.
‘Every single time we stay at, or take meetings at or dine at any of these 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,’ said George Clooney.
London’s iconic Dorchester has already been hit by protests that saw security defending the entrance, and some customers vowing not to return.
Bizarrely, the Brisbane hotel was reportedly recently publicising on social media that Elton stayed there in the 1980s, in order to promote its upcoming birthday celebrations. The hotel has now pulled down the post – and its entire Facebook page – amid mounting questions and a looming protest this weekend.
Elton has thrown his support behind the boycott Brunei movement, tweeting: ‘I commend my friend, #GeorgeClooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of #Brunei — a place where gay people re brutalized, or worse — by boycotting the Sultan’s hotels.’
TV host Ellen Degeneres also wrote, ‘Tomorrow, the country of Brunei will start stoning gay people to death.
‘We need to do something now. Please boycott these hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Raise your voices now. Spread the word. Rise up.’
One celebrity who is apparently not behind the boycott is Boy George, who posted on Twitter: ‘The problem with boycotting Sultan owned hotels is you are further attacking the LGBTQI people who work in these places!’
A spokesperson from protest group Boycott Brunei in Australia told WHO: ‘George is right: a hotel boycott might cause some LGBT workers to have their shifts cut or in extreme cases, even lose their jobs.
‘But that pales in comparison to people in Brunei having rocks thrown at them until they’re nothing but a bloody pulp.’
According to News Ltd, The Royal on The Park, which reportedly sometimes flies the Brunei flag outside its property, has declined to comment on its ownership or the controversy surrounding the legal changes in Brunei.
WHO formally approached the hotel for comment on its relationship with the Sultan of Brunei, the legal changes in that country, and upcoming protest action. No response was received by the time of publication.
The hotel has followed in the footsteps of the Sultan’s major overseas hotels by pulling down all of its social accounts – as well as Facebook, its Twitter and Instagram accounts are now gone.
Boycott Brunei In Australia confirmed to WHO it plans to go ahead with a rally this weekend outside the Royal on Park to ‘protest Brunei’s death penalty for homosexuality, adultery, blasphemy and apostasy’.
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