BEVERLY HILLS, California (REUTERS) - The city of Beverly Hills will vote on Tuesday on whether to pressure the government of Brunei to divest from the Beverly Hills Hotel, the pink-hued haunt of the Hollywood set, after the small country's enactment of syariah law prompted protests.
Comedians Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Leno and British entrepreneur Richard Branson have been the most prominent figures to advocate shunning the hotel and the bungalows, a favoured locale for the Hollywood elite since it opened a century ago.
Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse said last week the city council would vote at its Tuesday meeting on a resolution urging the Brunei government to divest from the hotel and condemn the country's laws.
Brunei, a former British protectorate of about 400,000 run by Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, last week became the first East Asian country to adopt the Islamic criminal law. It will punish offenses like sodomy and adultery with the death penalty, including by stoning.
The laws will be introduced in phases in the energy-rich country nestled between two Malaysian states on Borneo island, with the harshest penalties going into effect in two years.
"I'd like to think that all people are basically good and when they realise this is going on, hopefully they'll do something about it," Leno said alongside his wife, Mavis, at a protest urging a boycott of the hotel.
The US government has been largely silent on the issue until Tuesday, when the State Department told reporters that the ambassador to Brunei had privately relayed concerns to the government there about the law.
In the last few days, several organisations have cancelled events at the hotel, including the Motion Picture & Television Fund's annual star-studded "Night Before the Oscars" charity event and the Feminist Majority Foundation's annual Global Women's Rights Awards.
The Beverly Hills Hotel and nearby Hotel Bel-Air are part of the Dorchester Collection of luxury hotels that are owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, an arm of the Brunei government.
Christopher Cowdray, the chief executive of the London-based Dorchester Collection, said those protesting have ignored local hotels owned by countries with poor human rights records and that a boycott would ultimately hurt the local economy most.
"There are other hotel companies in this city that are owned by Saudi Arabia ... you know, your shirt probably comes from a country which has human rights issues," said Cowdray from Beverly Hills.
"So to single out the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Dorchester Collection, and in particular our employees, I feel is very unjust."
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that while a boycott is an acceptable way for private citizens to express themselves, "we don't take a position on this specific effort."
