The Dorchester Hotel chain, owned by a branch of the Brunei government, is facing a boycott over ties to Brunei’s adoption last week of Sharia law.
Celebrities including Virgin CEO Richard Branson, writer Stephen Fry and television personality Ellen DeGeneres have announced they will not patronize the luxury hotel chain because of the decision by Brunei to adopt Sharia, a strict form of Islamic law, within the country. The penalty for adultery or homosexuality will be stoning to death; theft will be punished by severing limbs.
The hotel chain includes the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Bel-Air in California, the Dorchester in London and other luxury properties around the world. The chain, called the Dorchester Collection, is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, part of the oil-rich country’s Ministry of Finance.
The Global Women’s Rights Awards, co-chaired by Jay and Mavis leno and scheduled for Monday evening, moved from the Beverly Hills Hotel to Los Angeles’ Hammer Museum as a result of the Sharia law announcement on Apr. 30.
Dorchester representatives issued a statement Monday noting their employees “have no involvement in this religious and political issue.”
