Will Smith Movie Not Filming Over Georgia Protest Voting Laws

Hollywood legend Will Smith has overcome a lot of adversities in his life, which include his time as an African American man in Hollywood. He also has his own views when it comes to racism as Smith himself has been subjected to it throughout his life.

According to a report by Variety, Smith and director Antoine Fuqua are now the latest names to announce that they will not be filming movies in Georgia after the passing of the highly controversial Election Integrity Act of 2021, which has received a lot of criticism from voting rights groups and people in general.

Smith and Fuqua’s upcoming movie called Emancipation is about a runaway slave and was stated to begin filming in June. While changing the location of the shooting a couple of months before it is supposed to start will cost them a pretty penny, Smith and Fuqua stand by their decision as they delivered a joint statement.

Smith and Fuqua said that they will not be filming the upcoming movie in Georgia due to the Election Integrity Act of 2021,

“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. Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state.”

Major League Baseball recently pulled the All Star game out of Atlanta in protest as well. We certainly do not approve of the law put forth by Georgia that simply belongs in the past and it is likely more stars will be distancing themselves from Georgia as well.