(Thank you to my friend Melissa for
posting these on my behalf)
@RussellCrowe “I don’t agree
with the boycotting of Dorchester collection hotels. It only hurts
the hard working staff who I consider friends” 20 May 2014
@kevin2kane @DTNJapan “It’s very
disappointing as @russellcrowe doesn’t say what he plans to do
about gays being stoned to death? Sit back and watch?” 20 May 2014
@russellcrowe to @kevin@kane “Well
Kevin I am going to block you now. I can see you are just a pathetic
bully who can’t deal with any opinion but your own.” 20 May 2014
In the last week
or so Russell Crowe blocked another tweeter calling him a ‘pathetic
bully’ with no opinion but his own. The man asked Russell Crowe
what he was planning to do about the new laws being introduced by the
Sultanate of Brunei. The man was calling for Russell Crowe and other
celebrities to boycott the hotels owned by the Sultanate of Brunei in
America and the United Kingdom for his implementation of harsh laws
against women, gays and transgender people.
Russell Crowe who stays at the hotels
and others have a point in it would hurt the employees and the
families of these hotels. The fans quickly got on board defending
Russell Crowe and calling anyone who objected to his opinion a name.
It seems so acceptable people using social media in North America who
have different opinions other than our own, calling them names and then block or
exclude them. Russell Crowe often does this to his followers in particular
people who have little or no benefit to him to remind others who is
in control. Calling people names and excluding them for having an
opinion other than our own is bullying. As the childhood saying goes
‘sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt
me.”
The man struck back writing a statement
for Pink News, Europe’s Largest Gay News Service (no copyright
infringement intended and edited for copyright reasons). He wrote on
his blog…
After a brief
exchange on Twitter this morning, Russell Crowe sent me a fairly rude
message and blocked me. He called me a “pathetic bully”. This
blog post is to put my side of the story.
I am partnered to
a gay Bruneian – we’ve been in a long term relationship for a
number of years. I’ve been to Brunei quite a few times, and
Bruneian friends have come to visit and I have many friends there
(straight, gay, lesbian etc). Most of the Bruneians live a happy
comfortable life, but it is a different life from the one that we can
live here in the UK. No Bruneian that I have ever met would ever
admit publicly to being gay. There’s never any mention of sexuality
on Facebook or Twitter – it is completely a taboo subject. There is
certainly an element of fear and a complete acceptance that all
communications are monitored by the authorities. I am aware of some
of my LGBT friends getting in trouble with the authorities although I
have been asked to not give any details, for fear they could get in
even more trouble…
Russell Crowe
tweeted this morning that he didn’t support the boycott. I sent a
few tweets questioning his concerns and putting my point across e.g.
saying “extremely disappointed in your response.” My main concern
is that he seemed to be saying that he would continue to enjoy the
comforts of the luxury hotel, and ignore completely the concerns of
LGBT people in Brunei who risk being stoned to death…
I would urge all
celebrities, politicians, people with influence in and out of Brunei,
to get behind this boycott. It is, at this point in time, the best
chance of a change.
Kevin
Kane is the owner of a medical statistics consultancy and an LGBT
rights activist.
Kevin Kane should be
congratulated for standing up for others, having his say and
defending himself. People calling for protests and bans in
countries like Brunei that live under harsh Islamic law forget that
women and others subjected to these harsh laws are not helpless
victims in need of the Western world’s protection. The bravery and
courage of the women and men in these countries and how they have
been able to live under laws in an Islamic country such as Brunei for
thousands of years and survived should be celebrated. Perhaps more
credit should be given to the people who face this adversity and that
they will continue to persist with their life style choices no matter
what the consequences including harsh Islamic law.
While Russell Crowe has a point about the
employees of the hotels I would be interested to know how much these
people who he calls ‘friends’ and their families are getting paid
per hour? Do they get the minimum wage or do they just survive on
tips from wealthy patrons that allow owners of these hotels to
accumulate huge amounts of wealth?
Russell
Crowe hits out at Hollywood boycott of The Beverly Hills Hotel,
saying it hurts his 'friends' the staff (no copyright infringement
intended).
- Stars have abandoned the hotel, which is owned by the Sultan of Brunei
- Brunei has recently introduced Sharia law calling for gays to be stoned
- Ellen DeGeneres, Sir Richard Branson and Mia Farrow have all boycotted Dorchester Collection hotels, which are owned by the Sultan of Brunei
By
Travelmail Reporter
Published:
23:16 AEST, 20 May 2014 | Updated: 01:42 AEST, 21 May 2014
The
Beverly Hills Hotel has been handed a lifeline by actor Russell
Crowe, after he announced that he didn't support the Hollywood
boycott that has crippled business.
The
star wrote on Twitter that didn't agree with the boycott as it hits
hard-working staff he considers his 'friends'.
Once
known as the place 'to be seen', the hotel has been almost empty in
recent weeks after its owner, the Sultan of Brunei, introduced Sharia
law in his country, which calls for homosexuals to be stoned to
death.
A
growing group of stars, from Ellen DeGeneres to Sharon Osbourne and
Stephen Fry - and even Kim Kardashian - have boycotted the Dorchester
Collection in protest at the law.
While
Fry cancelled his visit to Coworth Park, near Ascot, which is owned
by the group along with The Dorchester and 45 Park Lane in London as
well as luxury hotels in Paris, Geneva, Milan and Rome, others have
said they will avoid all the hotels in the chain.
Hollywood
stars have in turn focused on The Beverly Hills Hotel, the revered
102-year-old retreat that is loved by the rich and famous.
But
Gladiator star Crowe tweeeted his support for workers on Monday,
saying: 'I don't agree with the boycotting of Dorchester Collection
hotels. It only hurts the hard working staff who I consider friends.'
His
message was greet with support on Twitter, with 102 people rewteeted
the comment and 274 'favouriting' the tweet.
Reality
star Kim Kardashian is said to have cancelled her bridal shower at
the hotel, while the Motion Picture & Television Fund said it
will no longer hold its annual ‘Night Before the Oscars’ party at
the hotel.
The
Fund said it was making a protest at Brunei’s new sharia criminal
law, which punishes same-sex relationships, as well as adultery and
abortions, with flogging and stoning.
‘We
cannot condone or tolerate these harsh and repressive laws, and as a
result support a business owned by the Sultan of Brunei or a Brunei
sovereign fund associated with the government of Brunei,’ the
Fund's directors said in a statement.
Prominent
figures such as comedians Ellen DeGeneres and Jay Leno, and
entrepreneur Richard Branson, have been among those to advocate
shunning the hotel and its bungalows – a favoured locale for the
Hollywood elite since it opened its doors in 1912.
Branson
tweeted that no member of his Virgin staff would stay at any
Dorchester Collection property – the hotel group which includes the
Beverly Hills Hotel, and is owned by Brunei – ‘until the Sultan
abides by basic human rights.’
Mavis
Leno, co-chair of the Global Women's Rights Awards with husband Jay
Leno, said the new penalties ‘violate international law and have no
place in civilised society.’
In
an added move, the City of Beverly Hills voted to pressure the
government of Brunei into selling the Beverly Hills Hotel in the wake
of its new laws.
Brunei's
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has praised his state's laws as a ‘great
achievement.’
Brunei,
a conservative country where alcohol is banned and Muslim courts
already govern family affairs, has begun phasing in its version of
sharia law, which allows for penalties such as amputation for theft
and stoning for adultery.
The
most severe punishments – flogging, amputation and stoning – are
to be introduced over the next two years.
The
Dorchester Collection's chief executive has said that the hotel
boycott is misdirected.
‘American
companies across the board are funded by foreign investment,
including sovereign wealth funds,' Christopher Cowdray said in a
statement.
The
Beverly Hills Hotel has played host to a constellation of stars in
its 102-year history….
The
Dorchester Collection's chief executive has said that the hotel
boycott is misdirected.
‘American
companies across the board are funded by foreign investment,
including sovereign wealth funds,' Christopher Cowdray said in a
statement.
chaired
by Leno and his wife Mavis, from the hotel. The event, scheduled for
Monday, was instead held at the Hammer Museum in Westwood.
Other
organizations quickly jumped aboard the bandwagon. The Hollywood
Reporter said it would not hold its annual Women in Entertainment
breakfast at the hotel.
The
Motion Picture & Television Fund, which runs the star-studded
Night Before the Oscars, said it would not hold its charity event at
the hotel in 2015. In a statement, representatives said they met with
hotel executives and “expressed very clearly that we cannot condone
or tolerate these harsh and repressive laws.”
Teen
Line — a confidential teen-to-teen help line — also recently
decided to move its annual fundraising luncheon from the hotel to the
Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City
