Bob Iger: Disney Will Probably Leave Georgia If Anti-Abortion Bill Becomes Law

Bob Iger just threw Disney into the pool of Hollywood power players that may distance themselves fro..

admin May 30, 2019 3:00 pm

Bob Iger just threw Disney into the pool of Hollywood power players that may distance themselves from Georgia if the states controversial anti-abortion bill becomes law. On Wednesday the C.E.O. told Reuters that if this bill goes into effect as planned next year, it will “be very difficult” for his company to continue working in the state.

“If it becomes law, itll be very difficult to produce there,” Iger said. “I rather doubt we will.”

For the last few weeks, the entertainment industry—along with large portions of the country at large—has been pushing back against the controversial H.B. 481, signed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, which bans women from having abortions essentially after six weeks—before many women even know theyre pregnant. This piece of legislation (nicknamed the “heartbeat bill”) also allows the state to prosecute women for seeking abortions elsewhere, potentially punishing them with 10 years in prison, making it one of the most draconian abortion bans in the country. States like Alabama and Louisiana have since passed similar laws.

Georgia, however, has become Hollywoods target because of its popularity as a film and TV shooting location. Thanks in part to its tax breaks, the state has hosted numerous high-profile projects—and Disney has been chief among the studios shooting films there, especially when it comes to its Marvel slate. Avengers: Endgame, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, and Black Panther, for example, were all shot at Atlantas Pinewood Studios. (Considering New Orleans is also a popular shooting location, though no longer as popular as Atlanta, Louisiana might be facing a similar level of scrutiny in the coming weeks.)

In his interview, Iger noted that if H.B. 481 goes into effect, it will impact his employees, which is partly why the studio would want to leave the state. “Many people who work for us will not want to work there,” he said of Georgia. “Well have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now, were watching it very carefully . . . if it becomes law, I dont see how its practical for us to continue to shoot there.”

Disney isnt the only major company to issue a fairly decisive statement about Georgia. On Tuesday, Netflixs Ted Sarandos told Variety that the streamer is working with the ACLU to fight the bill in court. In the meantime, the company will continue working in the state “while also supporting partners and artists who choose not to. Should it ever come into effect, wed rethink our entire investment in Georgia.”

Various individual industry players have also spoken up, including Alyssa Milano, Mark Duplass, David Simon, and Killer Films C.E.O. Christine Vachon. In a joint statement, J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele said that although their upcoming HBO drama Lovecraft Country is still set to shoot in Georgia in a few weeks, they believe the “heartbeat bill” is “unconstitutional” and “an attack aimed squarely and purposely at women.” Both their respective companies, Bad Robot and Monkeypaw Productions, will donate 100 percent of their episodic fees for Lovecraft to the ACLU of Georgia and Fair Fight Georgia, both of which are pushing back against the bill.

However, the spreading boycott has also raised concerns from hundreds of Georgia locals who would no longer be employed if the industry were to shrivel up. The Vampire Diaries and The Originals show runner Julie Plec told Vanity Fair said she has “heard a lot from people locally, and specifically women of color, who are saying, Don't leave us. We need you to keep our communities employed, so that we can continue to have the voices and the resources to fight this at the ground level.”

Stacey Abrams, who ran against Kemp for the governorship, has also similarly said that an economic boycott would hurt the wrong people, instead encouraging Hollywood to throw money behind people working to fight against the bill.