Julianne Moore, Seth Macfarlane and Anne Hathaway have joined the fight against anti-gay legislation in Georgia.
Just days after Disney bosses threatened to end their links to the state if a bill that would allow businesses to discriminate against and refuse service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, a group of celebrities have added their names to a letter opposing the law change.
The missive has been sent to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, who is considering whether or not to sign the bill and make it law.
The Human Rights Campaign letter reads in part: "Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, sent a letter to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal on behalf of dozens of entertainment industry leaders who will abandon production in the state if he signs the anti-LGBT H.B. 757 into law.
"The letter follows a call to action from HRC President Chad Griffin, who delivered a speech in Los Angeles last Saturday urging Hollywood executives to stand up to Governor Deal and speak out against the dangerous and discriminatory legislation that could become law. H.B. 757 could weaken local non-discrimination protections and allow businesses to discriminate and deny service to LGBT people, in addition to explicitly allowing discrimination by taxpayer-funded religious organizations."
Griffin adds, "We applaud the dozens of leaders from the entertainment industry who are taking a stand today against discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry. The entertainment industry has a huge economic footprint in Georgia, and the choice for Governor Deal could not be any clearer: he must veto this outrageous legislation before it inflicts tremendous damage on the state.
Others who have signed the HRC letter include Matt Bomer, Harvey Weinstein, Marisa Tomei, screenwriters Dustin Lance Black and Diablo Cody, Zoe Kravitz, Glee creator Ryan Murphy, and actor/filmmaker Rob Reiner.