Stacey Abrams pushes back on effort to boycott Georgia
Defeated Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams does not want Hollywood to boycott Georgia despite some celebrities calling for the entertainment industry to avoid the Peach State.
Defeated Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams does not want Hollywood to boycott Georgia despite some celebrities calling for the entertainment industry to avoid the Peach State -- where popular shows including "The Walking Dead" are filmed -- as a result of her loss.
Abrams, who admitted last week that she could not beat Republican Brian Kemp, on Sunday refused to call Kemp the legitimate governor-elect and said democracy had "failed" in the state. While Abrams isn’t happy about the process, she doesn’t want her state impacted by Hollywood boycotts.
“I appreciate the calls to action, but I ask all of our entertainment industry friends to support #FairFightGA – but please do not #boycottgeorgia. The hard-working Georgians who serve on crews & make a living here are not to blame. I promise: We will fight – and we will win,” Abrams wrote.
The TV and film industries often film in Georgia because of a tax credit program, but Hollywood stars such as Alyssa Milano, Ron Perlman, Bradley Whitford and Steven Pasquale have taken to Twitter asking for the entertainment industry to take its cash elsewhere.
“Billions of Hollywood dollars spent and created in GA. We can do something about this,” Pasquale wrote.
Actress-turned-activist Milano wrote that over 20 productions are currently shooting in Georgia and asked, “Is the entertainment industry willing to support the economy of a totally corrupt state that suppresses democracy; where the winner isn’t the best choice for the people but the best schemer or crook?”
Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” “Raising Don,” “Sextuplets,” CW’s “Legacies,” “Black Lightning,” AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” Fox’s “The Gifted,” “The Passage,” “The Resident,” “Star” and CBS’ “MacGyver,” Dynasty, Showtime’s “Queen Fur,” are all filmed in Georgia, according to Project Casting, along with films including “Avengers 4.”
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Abrams said only that Kemp had "won an adequate number of votes to become the governor of Georgia" and would become the "legal governor of Georgia" when he takes the oath of office.
“But we know sometimes the law does not do what it should, and something being legal does not make it right," Abrams said. "Will I say that this election was not tainted, was not a disinvestment and a disenfranchisement of thousands of voters? I will not say that."
Abrams maintained that "it began eight years ago with the systematic disenfranchisement of more than a million voters and continued with the underfunding and disinvestment in polling places and training and in the management of the county delivery of services, and I think it had its pinnacle in this race."
Abrams insisted her complaints were based on "facts," and pointed specifically to "four different federal judges in the course of a week" who "forced better behavior" among Georgia election officials prior to the midterms. In one instance, shortly before Election Day, a federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama, U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross, ruled that the state's "exact match" law as a potential source of disenfranchisement and ordered the state to change its protocols.
Kemp had touted the law, which flags discrepancies between voter registrations and official identification documents. If there are any differences -- such as a missing hyphen -- voters had to clear the matter up with a state official before voting.
But those restrictions were estimated to affect only approximately 3,000 voters -- far short of the 55,000-vote margin that Kemp obtained on his way to victory.
Fox News’ Gregg Re contributed to this report.
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