• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Film/TV/Stream
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Tech/Science
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox

John Legend Pulls Out of Beverly Hills Hotel Party Over Boycott of Anti-Gay Sultan of Brunei

Sean Mandell February 4, 2015

LegendOscar-nominated singer-songwriter John Legend has pulled out of a party that was to be held in his honor at the Beverly Hills Hotel because of a boycott of the hotel that was launched over the hotel's owner, the Sultan of Brunei, enacting sharia law in his country, law that calls for the stoning of gays and adulterers. The party is to be hosted by L.A. Confidential magazine. Legend currently appears on the cover of the magazine's December/January issue.

The Hollywood Reporter (THR) reports:  

The party would be the first notable event held at the BHH since early 2014 when the boycott started following the Sultan of Brunei's passage of barbaric Sharia Law, which calls for the stoning of gays and adulterers. (Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah owns the BHH and the Hotel Bel-Air through his Dorchester Collection.)

Reached by THR on Monday, the magazine's publisher Alison Miller said in a statement: "Los Angeles Confidential Magazine is an avid supporter of equal rights for all people. Our decision to hold our event at the hotel in no way suggests that we support any anti-human rights policies."

A day later, Legend's rep Amanda Silverman told THR that her client is no longer going. "John Legend will not be attending the L.A. Confidential party at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday, February 5th in light of the horrific anti-women and anti-LGBT policies approved by the hotel's owner, the Sultan of Brunei. These policies, which among other things could permit women and LGBT Bruneians to be stoned to death, are heinous and certainly don't represent John's values or the spirit of the event. John does not, in any way, wish to further enrich the Sultan while he continues to enforce these brutal laws."

Beverly-hills-hotelL.A. Confidential has not commented since Legend made his announcement. Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen are still listed on the media alert. Reports have surfaced that Legend requested that the magazine move the event to a different venue, a request the magazine was allegedly unable to accommodate given the short notice and the fact that most major event spaces in Los Angeles are booked in the lead up to this Sunday's Grammy Awards.

THR also speculated as to whether L.A. Confidential was attempting to test the waters, so to speak, to see if it would be safe from a PR stand-point to return to the Beverly Hills Hotel as the boycott has drawn on without an end in sight.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has urged L.A. Confidential to find another venue for the event:

"We feel strongly that those who support the rights of women and the LGBT community should take their business elsewhere. I write to ask that you reconsider your decision to host an event at the Beverly Hills Hotel, or any hotel owned by the Sultan of Brunei, and join other prominent organizations who have found alternative venues," HRC global director Ty Cobb writes in the letter, obtained exclusively by THR. "LGBT citizens in many countries around the world remain persistent targets of harassment, arrest, and violence. Though it has long been the case that LGBT Bruneians and LGBT travelers to Brunei are considered criminals for simply being who they are, this decision means that Brunei will soon become the tenth nation that includes the death penalty as an option for 'punishing' LGBT people."

Previously, Kim Kardashian and Rose McGowan have criticized the boycott of The Beverly Hills Hotel, arguing the boycott hurts the hotel staff more than it does the Sultan.

Topics: News, Space, Travel More Posts About: Brunei, Brunei, News

Related Posts
  • Russia Blocks Facebook, Accusing it of Restricting Access to Russian Media;
  • Duran Duran Has New Music And You Are About To Enjoy it. It’s 2021. Seriously.
  • ‘Mayor Pete’ Trailer; Papa Pete Pwns Tucker; 4-Stars for Dr. Rachel Levine; JoJo Siwa’s Perfect 10s; Lynda Carter’s 8 Wonder-full Words: GOOD NEWS
  • Gay Man Tells Co-Worker to Stop Talking to Him About Her Pregnancy: ‘I Don’t Care’

    Gay Man Tells Co-Worker to Stop Talking to Him About Her Pregnancy: ‘I Don’t Care’

      Published by PopCrush   A man took to Reddit explaining he became frustrated after his co-worker began oversharing about her pregnancy with him. At first he didn’t mind talking to her about her pregnancy, but …Read More »
  • Biles, Denzel Washington, Rapinoe among winners of top US honor

    Biles, Denzel Washington, Rapinoe among winners of top US honor

    Published by AFP Simone Biles competing on the vault at the 2016 P&G Gymnastics Championships in St. Louis, Missouri Washington (AFP) – Gymnastics star Simone Biles, actor Denzel Washington and the late tech visionary Steve Jobs …Read More »
  • Trump thought marching to Capitol with rioting supporters would be ‘a dramatic made-for-TV moment’: report

    Trump thought marching to Capitol with rioting supporters would be ‘a dramatic made-for-TV moment’: report

    Published by Raw Story By Brad Reed A new report from the Washington Post provides more details about former President Donald Trump’s desire to match to the Capitol with supporters who would subsequently illegally break into …Read More »
  • In Switzerland, first same-sex couples say “I do”

    In Switzerland, first same-sex couples say “I do”

    Published by Reuters By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Arnd Wiegmann SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland (Reuters) – Alois Carnier, 57, and Peter Leu, 67, said “wholeheartedly, I do” to each other on Friday as same-sex marriages became legal in …Read More »
Previous Post: « LGBT News Sites Publish Unsubstantiated Allegations About Gay Man’s Funeral In Arkansas
Next Post: Jon Stewart Mocks the ‘Mindful Stupidity’ of the Anti-Vaxxers: VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Horseshoe crabs: ‘Living fossils’ vital for vaccine safety

    Horseshoe crabs: ‘Living fossils’ vital for vaccine safety

  • ‘A Disgusting Sight In Any Case’: Vladimir Putin Fires Back After G7 Leaders Joke About His Infamous Horse-Riding Picture

    ‘A Disgusting Sight In Any Case’: Vladimir Putin Fires Back After G7 Leaders Joke About His Infamous Horse-Riding Picture

  • Russia abandons Snake Island in victory for Ukraine

    Russia abandons Snake Island in victory for Ukraine

RSS Partner Links

  • Rebel Wilson confesses she’s “lost all control” while on holiday at an all-inclusive resort
  • Saturday Round-Up: Danny Roberts; Andrew Ahn; Tessa Thompson; Billy Porter; Elliot Page; Dan Jervis & more!
  • Saturday 'Stache
  • Kathryn Gallagher Releases New Song 'Read It In The Paper' About Finding Out an Ex Was Engaged
  • Amanda Bynes Ditches Bright Yellow Hair for a Lighter Blonde Look (New Photos)
  • DM: The Palace buried the bullying inquiry to protect the ‘defensive’ Sussexes
  • “Brie Larson’s social media presence is a bit lonely and offbeat” links

Most Recent

  • Mac Engel Column: WNBA player speaks honest truth about Brittney Griner: ‘If this was Shaq, he’d be home’

    Mac Engel Column: WNBA player speaks honest truth about Brittney Griner: ‘If this was Shaq, he’d be home’

  • Gay Man Tells Co-Worker to Stop Talking to Him About Her Pregnancy: ‘I Don’t Care’

    Gay Man Tells Co-Worker to Stop Talking to Him About Her Pregnancy: ‘I Don’t Care’

  • Biles, Denzel Washington, Rapinoe among winners of top US honor

    Biles, Denzel Washington, Rapinoe among winners of top US honor

  • Trump thought marching to Capitol with rioting supporters would be ‘a dramatic made-for-TV moment’: report

    Trump thought marching to Capitol with rioting supporters would be ‘a dramatic made-for-TV moment’: report

  • In Switzerland, first same-sex couples say “I do”

    In Switzerland, first same-sex couples say “I do”

  • Valkyrie’s sexuality was a big topic of conversation, says Tessa Thompson

    Valkyrie’s sexuality was a big topic of conversation, says Tessa Thompson

  • ‘Soft’ playwright Donja R. Love uses his own HIV+ diagnosis to illuminate his theatrical work

    ‘Soft’ playwright Donja R. Love uses his own HIV+ diagnosis to illuminate his theatrical work

  • Analysis-After abortion, conservative U.S. justices take aim at other precedents

    Analysis-After abortion, conservative U.S. justices take aim at other precedents

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Copyright © 2022 · Log in