Actor Will Smith joined the ‘woke’ left’s attacks on Georgia’s voter ID law by announcing he would be pulling production of his upcoming film out of the state.
In a joint statement with Antoine Fuqua, the director of the upcoming movie, “Emancipation,” he said they could not “in good conscience provide economic support” to Georgia because of its “regressive voting laws.” But as critics of the move pointed out, the pair essentially stepped on a rake in the decision to relocate filming to Louisiana.
“At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice,” Fuqua and Smith said in a joint statement.
“We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access. The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting,” they added. “Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state.”
Will Smith’s upcoming film ‘Emancipation,’ directed by Antoine Fuqua, will no longer be filming in Georgia due to the state’s new voter law that many say will drastically affect Black voters. pic.twitter.com/8mzzYSFUBN
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 12, 2021
But while that other state was not officially named, reports that it was Louisiana sparked mockery over the fact that it already has strict voting laws in place.
Clowns. https://t.co/7VjAaGgVBk
— THE Velvet (@TMIWITW) April 12, 2021
The left has been in a perpetual meltdown over the Georgia law, signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, which – contrary to the claims – does not amount to voter suppression. In fact, despite the insistence of those like President Joe Biden, who referred to the law as “Jim Crow on steroids,” it actually expands access to voting with more early voting hours and requiring identification to be verified.
But that did not stop the MLB from pulling the All-Star Game from Atlanta and a raucous outcry from others on the left, including major corporations, who have targeted Georgia with calls for boycotts.
According to Deadline:
The film, based on a script by William N. Collage, will star Smith as Peter, a fugitive from slavery on a harrowing journey north from Louisiana. The character “Whipped Peter,” was an enslaved person who emancipated himself from a Southern plantation and joined the Union Army.
“Emancipation,” which is reportedly to be produced and financed by Apple Studios, was scheduled to begin filming on June 21.
While in a Union camp, photographs were taken showing the whipping scars covering the whole of Peter’s back. Those photographs, including one known as as ‘The Scourged Back,’ were published in Harper’s Weekly and showed many in the North the horrors and brutality of slavery.
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 12, 2021
While it was not clear where the production will be moving for certain, and whether the decision will prompt a similar move by other filmmakers, Deadline noted that it “likely won’t presage a Georgia exodus.”
“This is a special case, one where the optics of shooting in the state would be difficult given the subject matter. Carrying the familiar peach symbol on this particular Apple film could undermine the power of the movie’s subject matter,” the outlet noted, referring to the story of the slave who fled a Louisiana plantation.
Social media users quickly reacted to the latest in the ongoing Georgia saga.
No. Virtue signaling is what’s most important.
— Ian McKelvey (@ian_mckelvey) April 12, 2021
I wonder if Hollywood has thought through the economic impact on minorities from them leaving Georgia? 🤷♂️
— They Call Me Ralph (@NewRandomGeek) April 12, 2021
Anyone tell him that LA has NO DROP BOXES for your ballot whereas Georgia actually codified the use of drop boxes?
— Neanderthal Theologian (@ljsheeley3) April 12, 2021
What about all the Black business owners in Georgia that now won’t reap the benefits of the movie’s production? Also, do Fuqua and Smith realize that Louisiana requires #VoterID too? #morons
— 🇺🇸 #IAmTheNRA Rosenblum (@StevenRosenblum) April 12, 2021
Wow, they hit the trifecta of virtue signaling idiocy:
1. Hurt the people of Georgia;
2. Moved to a state with worse laws;
3. Spent lots of money to do it.— Just a Dog (@justadog703) April 12, 2021
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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