More actors and film production companies, such as Alyssa Milano and Duplass Brothers Productions, have joined a boycott of the state of Georgia after Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a new “heartbeat” abortion bill into law.
Milano told BuzzFeed News in a statement Thursday that she will not return to Netflix’s “Insatiable” for a third season if the show’s filming does not move to a different state.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I have to be there for another month but you can be sure I will fight tooth and nail to move ‘Insatiable’ to a state that will protect our rights,” Milano said.
“And if it doesn’t move to another state, I will not be able to return to the show if we are blessed with a third season. This is my leverage. I will use it for the betterment of society and our great country,” she added.
The actress, a vocal “Me Too” advocate, previously joined other actors in writing to Kemp and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R) to say they would boycott the state if the bill became law.
To @BrianKempGA & Speaker Ralston:
Attached, is an open letter signed by 50 actors against #HB481. On behalf of the undersigned–as people often called to work in GA or those of us contractually bound to work in GA–we hope you’ll reconsider signing this bill. #HBIsBadForBusiness pic.twitter.com/DsOmAWYU2x
Mark Duplass, of Duplass Brothers Productions, said his company would also not film in the state and urged others not to do business there.
Don’t give your business to Georgia. Will you pledge with me not to film anything in Georgia until they reverse this backwards legislation?
— Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) May 9, 2019
CounterNarrative Films also said it would not work in Georgia, according to NBC News.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) also said it would “monitor developments” in the state in a Wednesday statement to Variety.
“Film and television production in Georgia supports more than 92,000 jobs and brings significant economic benefits to communities and families,” said MPAA spokesman Chris Ortman.
“It is important to remember that similar legislation has been attempted in other states, and has either been enjoined by the courts or currently being challenged,” he added. “The outcome in Georgia will also be determined through the legal process. We will continue to monitor developments.”
Previously, the heads of two other production companies said they would also boycott the state. David Simon, who created “The Wire” and “The Deuce,” tweeted Thursday that his company Blown Deadline’s “assessments of locations for upcoming development will pull Georgia off the list until we can be assured the health options and civil liberties of our female colleagues are unimpaired.”
“I can’t ask any female member of any film production with which I am involved to so marginalize themselves or compromise their inalienable authority over their own bodies,” he added.
Killer Films CEO Christine Vacho also tweeted that her company “will no longer consider Georgia as a viable shooting location until this ridiculous law is overturned.”
In March, more than 40 stars, including Milano, signed a letter saying that they would push their industry to leave the state if the bill became law. Signatories included Rosie O’Donnell, Gabrielle Union, Patton Oswalt, Amy SchumerAmy Beth SchumerTwo production companies pledge to pull filming from Georgia over strict anti-abortion law How baby Sussex changes Mother’s Day Schumer ‘can’t wait’ for his grandson to meet cousin Amy Schumer’s baby MORE, Ben Stiller, Sarah Silverman, Don Cheadle, Mia Farrow, Essence Atkins, Uzo Aduba and Christina Applegate.
Earlier this week, Georgia passed H.B. 481, which bars doctors in the state from performing an abortion once a fetus’s heartbeat is detectable, typically at around six weeks into a pregnancy.
Multiple other states have either passed or advanced similar heartbeat abortion bans in recent months, including Iowa, Ohio and Mississippi.