Will Smith attends 2020 Salute to Greatness Awards Gala. | Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Following Republican Governor Brian Kemp’s restrictive election law, Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua have decided to film their upcoming movie Emancipation elsewhere.
Kemp’s controversial law, which stipulates new I.D. requirements, will of course disproportionately affect voters of color. “The legislation adds new identification requirements to absentee voting, limits ballot drop boxes and prohibits offering food or water to voters in line, among other provisions,” CNBC explains. The repressive law is obviously in response to all the great work Stacey Abrams did to get our folks voting in the 2020 presidential election, which turned Georgia blue as Americans voted Trump out and Joe Biden in.
“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. 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,” the film’s star, Smith, and director, Fuqua, said in a joint statement, provided by Deadline.
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Antoine Fuqua attends the Heart Of Los Angeles 30th Anniversary Gala at Skirball Cultural Center. | Source: Tommaso Boddi / Getty
Emancipation follows a slave by the name of Peter (Smith), who flees a Louisiana plantation after nearly being whipped to death. During his fight for freedom and before joining the Union Army, Peter must of course outrun slave hunters and more. The film is based on a true story.
Stay tuned!
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