A growing number of actors, directors, and producers have spoken out against Georgia’s new anti-abortion law, but most studios have remained conspicuously silent. Rather than shying away from the controversy, Netflix and Disney are taking a stand — and they are standing in solidarity with women.
Earlier this month Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill designed to outlaw abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. Since then, filming in the “Hollywood of the South” has become a moral conundrum in the entertainment industry, though many are seemingly swayed by the state’s impressive tax incentive.
Variety recently contacted major studios and companies with “deep financial investments in the state” and Netflix was the sole company to respond to the trade’s inquiries. We were pleasantly surprised by the streamer’s candor on the matter. “We have many women working on productions in Georgia, whose rights, along with millions of others, will be severely restricted by this law,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer. “It’s why we will work with the ACLU and others to fight it in court. Given the legislation has not yet been implemented, we’ll continue to film there, while also supporting partners and artists who choose not to. Should it ever come into effect, we’d rethink our entire investment in Georgia.”
Since then, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Georgia’s anti-abortion law would make it “difficult” for the company to continue shooting there. In a statement decidedly less political than Netflix’s, Iger acknowledged that “many people who work for [Disney] will not want to work [in Georgia]” if the law goes into effect. “We will have to heed their wishes,” he emphasized.
Most recently, WarnerMedia issued a statement explaining why it will reconsider Georgia as a filming site if the law goes into effect. The company seemed to offer a cop out, saying, “We operate and produce work in many states and within several countries at any given time and while that doesn’t mean we agree with every position taken by a state or a country and their leaders, we do respect due process.” The statement continued, “We will watch the situation closely and if the new law holds we will reconsider Georgia as the home to any new production.” It’s unclear what exactly WarnerMedia is trying to convey with this message. At this point it basically reads as “we know it looks bad if we stay silent but we won’t make any commitments or take an official stance.”
Of course, some projects were already well underway in Georgia by the time this issue gained national prominence. J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele made a public statement about why their upcoming HBO sci-fi series “Lovecraft Country” will film in Georgia as planned. The co-producers emphasized that they are “standing shoulder to shoulder with the women of Georgia,” and described the law as “an attack aimed squarely and purposely at women,” and explained that they’ll donate 100 percent of their respective episodic fees for the season to two organizations “leading the charge against this draconian law”: the ACLU of Georgia and Fair Fight Georgia.
Emmy-winning “Handmaid’s Tale” director Reed Morano and “Bridesmaids” collaborators Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, on the other hand, decided to scrap plans to shoot in Georgia in the wake of the news.
As Busy Philipps’ #YouKnowMe ACLU campaign emphasizes, one in four women will have an abortion sometime in her life. Deciding whether or not to do business in Georgia isn’t “just” about taking a public stance on women’s reproductive rights — shooting in the state would jeopardize the health, safety, and freedom of the women working on camera and behind the scenes of these projects.
Update: NBCUniversal, AMC, Sony, Viacom and CBS have since weighed in on Georgia’s anti-abortion law. Their statements indicated that that the law would cause the companies to reconsider whether they would continue to shoot in the state.
