John Legend says Hollywood should consider boycotting Georgia because of ‘heartbeat’ bill
John Legend is one of the few musicians to publicly comment about the “heartbeat” abortion bill signed by Gov. Brian Kemp – at least as it pertains to the TV and film industry.
The Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-Tony-winning musician believes Hollywood should consider a boycott of the state, as well as any others that pass restrictive abortion laws.
"I don't know that it will definitely work, but I know that money talks,” he said this week at an event for Pampers diapers, for which he is a spokesperson.
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Legend noted that studios hire and attract people to the state for work, “But if you get pregnant there you're going to be treated like a second-class citizen. That's a tough conversation to have with your staff. And so I think hopefully the pressure that the studios are putting on will help Georgia and other states see the error of their ways,” he said.
Several Hollywood studios and Netflix have stated that they will reevaluate their filming and production plans in Georgia, which employs more than 90,000 in the local film and TV industry.
Legend, who has two children with his wife, model/author Chrissy Teigen, has often championed women’s rights.
"There's no way we can have equality in any other realm if women don't have the ability to make these kinds of decisions on their own without the state getting involved," Legend said.
About the Author
Melissa Ruggieri has covered music and entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2010 and created the Atlanta Music Scene blog. She's kept vampire hours for more than two decades and remembers when MTV was awesome.
