Time Warner joined Disney in threatening to boycott Georgia if Gov. Nathan Deal signs a religious liberty bill into law. Like Disney, Time Warner and AMC have filmed in the state to take advantage of tax credits.
On March 23, Disney specifically threatened to stop filming Marvel movies in Georgia if Deal signs the bill.
Called the Free Exercise Protection Act, it allows faith-based groups to deny services that violate their religious beliefs and says that ministers do not have to be forced to officiate same-sex marriages. Critics have called the bill discriminatory and anti-gay.
“At Time Warner, diversity in all its forms is core to our value system and to the success of our business,” Time Warner, which owns Atlanta-based CNN, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “We strongly oppose the discriminatory language and intent of Georgia's pending religious liberty bill, which clearly violates the values and principles of inclusion and the ability of all people to live and work free from discrimination.”
AMC Networks, which films The Walking Dead, in Georgia, said that it “believes that discrimination of any kind is reprehensible,” reports TheWrap. However, the network didn’t threaten a boycott.
“We applaud Governor Deal’s leadership in resisting a previous version of this divisive legislation and urge him to reject the current version as well,” the network added.
Viacom has also threatened to boycott the state if the law has passed. The NFL said that it wouldn’t consider Atlanta as a host for a future Super Bowl should Deal sign it.