Will Smiths film ‘Emancipation’ Pulled Out Of Georgia Over Voting Laws

Due to what the actor and producer described at “regressive voting laws”, Will Smith has pulled his movie ‘Emancipation’ from filming in Georgia.

In a statement given by the actor, he expressed that he felt ‘compelled’ to act and could not in good conscience “provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access.”

The Georgia laws that are causing the actor trouble with his conscience state that, future elections will require ID for anyone requesting a mail-in ballot. This method is supposed to make postal voting more secure.

The law also prohibits anyone except poll workers from handing out food or water to people queuing outside polling stations.

However, critics argue that the new measures are likely to disproportionately affect black Americans, as they feel them to be less likely than white Americans to have voter identification.

President Biden has called the law “Jim Crow in the 21st Century” and “a blatant attack on the Constitution”, but Republicans say they are streamlining voting procedures and trying to restore confidence in the election system.

The movie sees Smith playing Peter, a slave who flees a plantation in Louisiana after being subjected to abuse. He makes the perilous journey north and joins the Union army during the American Civil War.

The film is based on a true story – a photo of Peter’s back was taken during an army medical examination and was published in 1863 and prompted many free black people to join the Union army.

Filming was due to start in June.

According to Georgia’s film commission, more top-grossing movies are shot there “than anywhere else in the world” – with recent productions including Deadpool and Avengers: Endgame to name but a few.

Film and TV production now generates more than $10bn (£7,2bn) for the state each year – and Stacey Abrams, former minority leader in the Georgia house of representatives and author has urged Hollywood not to move away en masse.

Daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, Bernice King, has also joined to ask film-makers to reconsider. “Please stop the #BoycottGeorgia talk,” she said. “That would hurt middle class workers and people grappling with poverty. And it would increase the harm of both racism and classism.”