Hollywood Charities Pull Events From Brunei-Owned Hotel

Two charities with entertainment-industry ties are boycotting the Beverly Hills Hotel over its ownership links to the sultan of Brunei, who is implementing a harsh new legal code that will make adultery and gay sex punishable by death in the Southeast Asian nation, The New York Times writes, citing reporting by The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood.

The Motion Picture and Television Fund, which provides health, housing, and other services for industry retirees, said it will move its annual “Night Before the Oscars” fundraising event, usually held at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Youth organization Teen Line has relocated an event scheduled for Wednesday to honor Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairwoman Amy Pascal.

The hotel is managed by the Dorchester Collection, a chain of luxury hotels owned by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s Brunei Investment Agency. The sultan has began phasing in Islamic law, or Shariah, in Brunei, sparking protests by gay-rights and feminist groups, celebrities, and Hollywood business figures.