Netflix To Boycott Georgia Over Heartbeat Law

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Netflix Is Pulling Production From Georgia

Netflix has become the first major Hollywood studio to publicly weigh in on Georgia’s restrictive abortion law. Ted Sarandos, the streaming giant’s chief content officer, said the company would “rethink” their “entire investment in Georgia” should the law go into effect.

Georgia is facing a lot of backlash from people and Hollywood celebrities alike for its recently passed fetal heartbeat law, which bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, except in cases of rape or incest. Georgia is a major production hub for film and television, but now with the controversial law, a lot of Hollywood is boycotting the state, and many productions have already canceled prospective plans to shoot in the state.

Bigger companies such as Disney and Warner Bros. have stayed silent on the issue so far, unwilling to take a side and alienate audiences. If the law goes unchallenged, it will go into effect in January 2020.

Georgia became a major production hub about 12 years ago after offering incentives that allowed for productions to claim 20 percent in tax credits and an additional 10 percent for attaching the state’s peach logo to the production credits. Some major blockbuster films that were produced in the state include “Hunger Games,” “Captain America: Civil War,” and “Black Panther.”

By: Maytinee Kramer