Spike Lee Says Hollywood Should 'Shut It Down' and Boycott Georgia

Matt Sayles

Spike Lee is calling for Hollywood companies to pull their productions out of Georgia over a law that will ban abortions as early as six weeks after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

According to the Associated Press, Lee attended Denzel Washington’s American Film Institute lifetime achievement tribute on Thursday and called for Georgia-based productions to “shut it down” and boycott the state.

“I know it’s going to affect people’s livelihood. But that’s how things change,” Lee said. “You’ve got to be on the right side of history, and the state of Georgia and those other states, they’re wrong.”

Also Read: Oscars 2019: Spike Lee Calls on Voters to 'Do the Right Thing' in 2020 Election

TheWrap has reached out to Lee’s rep for additional comment.

Last month, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill to outlaw abortion in Georgia after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. The law is expected to take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, pending legal challenges, which are expected.

Georgia makes billions of dollars from Hollywood productions in the state – $2.7 billion in 2018, according to the governor’s office.

Also Read: Spike Lee's Stance on Diversity Is the Same Since #OscarsSoWhite: 'It's Always Going to Be Iffy'

Major media companies across Hollywood are pushing back against the anti-abortion “heartbeat bill” passed in Georgia, saying that they will monitor the situation and reconsider filming in the state in the future should the law go into effect.

Several other prominent producers, like Reed Morano and Judd Apatow, have said they would boycott filming in Georgia in response to the law. Producers David Simon, Christine Vachon, Mark Duplass, Nina Jacobson and Neal Dodson have already boycotted shooting in the state altogether.

Also last month, it was announced that “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” the feature starring the “Bridesmaids” team of Kirsten Wiig and Annie Mumolo, had pulled out of filming in the state in response to the bill.

Every Black Director Nominated for an Oscar, From John Singleton to Spike Lee (Photos)

Spike Lee became only the sixth black director to receive an Oscar nomination in the Academy's history for his work on "BlackKklansman." But so far, no black filmmaker has won in that category.
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John Singleton, "Boyz N the Hood" (1991) • Two years after Spike Lee was passed over for a nomination for "Do the Right Thing," John Singleton became the first African American to earn a Best Director nomination for his star-studded drama set in South Central L.A. That year, Jonathan Demme won the award for "The Silence of the Lambs."
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Lee Daniels, "Precious" (2009) • Eighteen years passed before a second African American filmmaker was recognized: Lee Daniels, for his gritty portrait of a young woman seeking to overcome a childhood of poverty and abuse. In another Oscar first, Kathryn Bigelow became the first female director to win the Oscar, for "The Hurt Locker."
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Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave" (2013) • British director Steve McQueen gritty drama about American slavery picked up nine nominations, including one for his directing. While the film won Best Picture (and McQueen earned a statuette as a producer), he lost the directing prize to "Gravity" filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.
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Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight" (2016) • Jenkins' underdog indie pulled off a major upset, beating front-runner "La La Land" for Best Picture. But Damien Chazelle claimed the directing prize for the modern-day musical. (Jenkins did take home the statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay.)
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Jordan Peele, "Get Out" (2017) • Peele became the latest actor-turned-filmmaker to earn a Best Director nod, for his feature filmmaking debut. Peele won an Oscar for his original screenplay but Guillermo del Toro won Best Director for "The Shape of Water."
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Spike Lee, "BlackKklansman" (2018) • Despite wide acclaim for such films as 1989's "Do the Right Thing" and 1992's "Malcolm X," the pioneering filmmaker earned his first nomination decades into his career for this fact-based tale of a black undercover cop who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.
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Spike Lee finally makes the cut for “BlackKklansman”

Spike Lee became only the sixth black director to receive an Oscar nomination in the Academy's history for his work on "BlackKklansman." But so far, no black filmmaker has won in that category.

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Every Black Director Nominated for an Oscar, From John Singleton to Spike Lee (Photos)

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