Michael Moore joined rocker Bruce Springsteen and other celebrities in boycotting North Carolina after the state passed a religious freedom law that some have slammed as discriminatory against transgendered persons.
In a message posted to his Twitter account Tuesday, the 61-year-old liberal documentary filmmaker said that he has asked the distributor of his latest film, Where to Invade Next, to withhold the film from theaters in North Carolina due to the state’s “bigoted law against LGBTQ” people.
North Carolina’s HB 2, also known as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, prohibits cities within the state from passing their own non-discrimination ordinances. The law also mandates that transgender people must use public bathrooms that correspond with their biological sex.
Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill into law shortly after it passed the state legislature, but figures in the entertainment industry along with several businesses have vowed to boycott the state as a result of the legislation.
Bruce Springsteen canceled a planned concert in Greensboro in protest against the law, writing on his website that the “fight against prejudice and bigotry” is “more important than a rock show.” Filmmaker Rob Reiner also announced that he would no longer shoot projects in the state.
Rocker Bryan Adams followed suit this week, canceling a planned concert in Mississippi over that state’s passage of its own religious liberty law.
Of course, some Twitter users didn’t mind that Moore’s film would no longer be shown in North Carolina.
Where to Invade Next opened to mixed reviews in February and drew the worst opening-weekend box office of Moore’s nearly three decade-long career.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum