Hollywood Stars, Entertainment Companies Sign Open Letter Condemning Georgia Voting Restrictions

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Angelique Jackson Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler is denouncing Georgia’s new restrictive voting laws and explains why he will still film “Black Panther II” in the state.Coogler penned an op-ed, shared with Shadow and Act, speaking out against the controversial legislation.“The fight for full enfranchisement is fundamental to the African-American struggle in this country and to this country’s claim to functioning democracy,” Coogler wrote.

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An open letter headlined "We Stand For Democracy" and opposing restrictions on voting drew hundreds of signees from across corporate America, including many names from the entertainment industry. Among the companies attaching their names to the letter were Netflix, ViacomCBS, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Live Nation Entertainment.

Major corporations, celebrities and other prominent figures signed on to a two-page ad opposing “any discriminatory legislation or measures” that restrict eligible voters from having “an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot.”

election offices and to remove and replace local election officials. Opponents have said the law is designed to reduce the impact of minority voters.In a joint statement, Smith and Fuqua — who are both producers on the project — said they felt compelled to move the production out of Georgia.“We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access,” Smith and Fuqua said.

Will Smith's production company, Westbrook, is moving their upcoming film, , out of Georgia due to the state's new voting laws.

Will Smith is moving production for his upcoming movie Emancipation.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAntoine Fuqua and Will Smith will move production on their big-budget, runaway slave thriller “Emancipation” out of Georgia in protest over the state’s controversial new voting restrictions.The announcement continues the economic fallout from Gov. Brian Kemp and the state legislature’s decision to pass new regulations that critics maintain amount to voter suppression, aimed at reducing the turnout of people of color.

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The Producers Guild of America has joined the growing chorus of Hollywood guilds opposed to Georgia’s restrictive new voting laws. “The Producers Guild of America strongly opposes the Georgia voter bill as an attempt to restrict the votes of underrepresented groups, particularly Black Americans,” the PGA tweeted this evening. “Full access to voting is the underpinning of our American Democracy and it is imperative for us to rigorously protect these rights for all Americans.”

New Jersey may be the first state to pitch itself as an alternative to Georgia production but won’t be the last amid national furor at the Peach State’s restrictive new voting law. Atlanta’s booming entertainment infrastructure has so many advantages from rebates to infrastructure, yet the state is making itself a liability again less than a year after passing a highly controversial state abortion law (struck down by a federal judge as unconstitutional).

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