Brunei gay sex stoning: Ellen DeGeneres, George Clooney & others ask for boycott of hotels

As the kingdom of Brunei enacted new Islamic laws that make gay sex and adultery punishable by stoning to death, a number of celebrities have come out in the open to boycott hotels owned by them.

The first Hollywood celebrity to start the boycott campaign was comedian Ellen DeGeneres who wrote on Instagram and Twitter enlisting a number of hotels that are owned by the kingdom and wrote, "We need to do something now” and added, “Raise your voices now. Spread the word. Rise up."

Tennis star Billie Jean King also followed suit and posted the same. The list mentions the name of nine hotels owned by the Southeast Asian kingdom -- three in the United Kingdom, two in the United States, two in France and two in Italy. She wrote: "This atrocity begins today in Brunei. Please join me and spread the word about the boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei."

These include the luxurious properties like The Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, The Dorchester in London, Principe di Savoia in Milan and Le Meurice in Paris.

George Clooney also joined the boycott movement. He was, in fact, instrumental in starting this. He wrote an opinion piece published in Deadline. It read: "Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism, this stands alone. Every single time we stay at, or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery.”

Music icon Elton John praised Clooney for his stance. While he recognized the boycott would hit "the good, hardworking employees" of the Brunei-owned hotels, he said "we must send a message."

He said, "That's why David (Furnish, John's husband) and I have long refused to stay at these hotels and will continue to do so.”