Jessica Chastain and Sophie Turner vow to boycott US states with strict abortion laws

Authored by news.sky.com and submitted by Amcal

Jessica Chastain and Sophie Turner vow to boycott US states with strict abortion laws

Sophie Turner (left) and Jessica Chastain oppose strict abortion laws in the US

Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain and Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner have vowed to boycott working in US states with strict abortion laws.

The X-Men: Dark Phoenix co-stars told Sky News they have signed a letter, along with dozens of other celebrities, making their stance clear after several US states passed laws recently to limit terminations.

Georgia - the third-largest film production hub in the US - became the fourth state this year to introduce a "heartbeat law", making abortion illegal as soon as a foetal heartbeat can be heard - as little as six weeks into pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Alabama has passed a law to impose a near-total abortion ban in the state, with the only exception when a woman's health is at serious risk.

Chastain, 42, told Sky News: "There's a letter going around that I signed saying I'm not going to work in any state that denies rights for women, for the LGBTQ community, for anyone.

"I'm not going to work in a state that discriminates."

Turner, 23, added: "I signed it too. I have yet to tell my agents I signed it.

"They're going to be like: 'What? You can't work in these states?' Yeah I can't work in these states."

After it was pointed out that Game Of Thrones was filmed in Northern Ireland - where women can face life in jail for aborting a pregnancy - Turner replied: "There was a lot of work of Game Of Thrones there, so luckily we're moving on."

Image: Chastain and Turner say they will not work in any state 'that denies rights for women'

Fifty actors signed a letter in March proposing a boycott of film and television production in Georgia over its strict abortion laws.

They included Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Alyssa Milano, Amy Schumer, Minnie Driver and Michael Sheen.

The letter stated that "we cannot in good conscience continue to recommend our industry remain in Georgia" if the heartbeat bill becomes law in the state.

The battle for abortion rights in Alabama

"We want to stay in Georgia," the letter adds.

"But we will not do so silently, and we will do everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women if [this] becomes law."

The letter was addressed to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who signed the controversial bill into law on 7 May.

DwarfShammy on June 1st, 2019 at 08:08 UTC »

Friendly reminder that Disney shot Aladdin in Jordan which has more strict abortion laws

Not to mention the state of gay rights

My fucking sides

mckenziebros on May 31st, 2019 at 23:12 UTC »

Why am I suddenly seeing multiple headlines about the two? Are they working together on something?

simpleslingblade13 on May 31st, 2019 at 23:09 UTC »

I support their right to protest, though I wonder if it will apply to filming in other countries as well.