On Tuesday, even though he has been receiving threats of Boycott from Hollywood, Governor Brian Kemp from Georgia reaffirmed that he was be signing the legislation banning abortion after the heartbeat of an unborn child has been detected. During an interview with WSB’s Scott Slade on Atlanta’s Morning News, Kemp said: “We value life in our state.”
Kemp continued by saying that he isn’t phased by the threat of a Georgia boycott from Hollywood. “I don’t believe there will be dire consequences for supporting life in our state,” said Kemp.
Actress Alyssa Milano has been at the front of the line, leading the boycott threat. Milano stars in the Netflix comedy “Insatiable,” which is filmed in Atlanta. “We are going to do everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women if HB 481 becomes law,” said Milano earlier this month in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Kemp was elected this past November and he has vowed to stay true to the promises he made to his voters. “I can’t govern because I’m worried about what someone in Hollywood thinks about me. I ran the last two years on these issues, and I got elected with the largest number of votes in the history of the state of Georgia, and I’m doing what I told people I would do,” said Kemp.
When Kemp was asked by WSB about when he plans on signing the heartbeat bill, he said: “We really haven’t set a date for any of the bills to sign yet. We’ve got a thorough review process that we go through on every bill just to make sure there’s nothing in there that we missed.”
Ashley Bratcher, an actress based in Atlanta who stars in the pro-life film “Unplanned,” celebrated Kemp for his stance in protecting life. In a tweet, Bratcher wrote: “Hey @Alyssa_Milano Mother to mother, actress to actress, and as a proud Georgian, I’ve got some things to say to you. I’m incredibly proud of my home state and @GovKemp for taking a stand in the fight for life amidst backlash and dubious threats.”
In a letter linked to Milano, Bratcher asked if she was forgetting about the rights of “women within the womb.” Bratcher wrote: “With radical laws like the ones in New York and Vermont being passed, it’s more critical than ever that we are using our voices to fight for the rights of women. One problem, you’re forgetting about the rights of women within the womb. If feminism is all about equal rights, then where are her rights?”
Bratcher recalled her own story of how she was almost a victim of abortion. She also pointed to Milano’s argument about Georgia risking the loss of the $2.7 billion they receive from film production.
“We don’t believe in putting a price tag on the value of a human life. Our brave leaders have stepped up to say enough is enough, we will no longer sit idly by as innocent lives are taken by the thousands each day,” wrote Bratcher. “You hail Georgia as the ‘Hollywood of the South’ but you should know, it’s pretty evident that Georgia has its own identity and that it won’t be bowing down to Hollywood anytime soon.”
According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, in 2017, Georgia was rated as the top movie filming location in the world, but they slipped behind Canada in 2018. In total, 455 TV and film productions were eligible for Georgia’s production tax credits during the 2018 fiscal year. Among the movies filmed in Georgia over the past few years were “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and “Black Panther.” TV shows that have filmed in Georgia over the past year have been Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and FX’s “Atlanta.”
