Controversial Election Law: Will Smith Boycott the US State of Georgia

Thanks to large tax incentives, in recent years Georgia has become one of the main filming locations in the United States, hosting, for example, Marvel films or series. the walking Dead.

But the adoption of a text last month that is supposed to combat electoral fraud, especially by strengthening controls over the identity of voters who vote in the mail, sparked a wave of criticism and calls for a boycott in the economic and sports sectors.

Backward election laws

Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua, DirectorReleaseOn Monday, I decided to join this protest movement.

We cannot, in our hearts and souls, provide economic support to an executive that enforces backward electoral laws aimed at restricting access to the polls. […] We regret to transfer our film production business from Georgia to another country.Write the artists in a press release sent to Agence France-Presse.

In addition to the enhanced identity checks, the text signed by the Republican governor of Georgia also prohibits the distribution of water or food in long lines on voting days, and limits the number of ballot boxes installed on City Street to deposit ballots.

Critics of the law have compared its provisions to the restrictions imposed by the so-called Jim Crow apartheid laws, introduced by several southern states after the Civil War to limit the right to vote for African Americans.

New electoral arrangements in Georgia Remember the voting barriers enacted at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many people from voting in the United StatesWill Smith and Antoine Fuqua estimate, the latter is particularly well known for his film Training day (Training day).

In Georgia, where the wounds of slavery and apartheid still live, thanks to the record mobilization, particularly of black voters, that President Joe Biden won in November 2020. A victory was contested in this state by Donald Trump, who claimed Wrong that he was a victim of electoral fraud.

Actor Mark Hamill is also interacting

Until Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua’s decision, boycott calls did not find much resonance in Hollywood, except for some angry tweets like those by James Mangold, who will recognize the next installment of the adventures of Indiana Jones or actor Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga.

To protest the new provisions, the North American Baseball Association (MLB) announced Friday that the All-Star Game 2021, scheduled for July 13 in Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, will finally be held in another state.

Private companies such as Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines, which provide many jobs in Georgia, also publicly denounced the law.