Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Hollywood’s reaction to recent abortion legislation:
Hollywood has long been out of touch with most Americans, which is one reason why few bother to watch its annual self-congratulatory pageant called the Oscars.
If there is one issue that divides Hollywood from the rest of the nation, it is abortion. It’s not hard to figure out why: Those who work in the entertainment industry want sex without consequences, and that means no more unwanted babies (and no more STDs). Which is why they are so passionate about abortion.
It does not exaggerate to say that Hollywood has a love affair with abortion. How else can one interpret the mania displayed by Tinseltown over recent state laws restricting abortion? Look at the reaction to the “heartbeat” bill that was passed in Georgia.
Led by Disney (Walt must be turning over in his grave) chief Bob Iger, the big thinkers in Hollywood have all lined up, single file. Netflix, WarnerMedia, CBS, Showtime, NBCUniversal, AMC Networks, Sony Pictures, STX and Viacom have all said they may pack up and leave Georgia if the bill becomes law. They currently receive generous tax incentives to produce movies there.
What makes this issue so rich with irony is the fact that Hollywood contributes mightily to one of the root causes of abortion: promiscuity. To be specific, the kind of graphic sexual fare that Hollywood produces—it has been eroticizing the culture for decades—helps to create an environment where men and women are more likely to abandon restraint.
Hollywood denies any cause and effect between its sexual fare and promiscuity. But it won’t work. Why did Hollywood decide long ago not to feature smoking in movies? Because it didn’t want to create an environment which induced young people to smoke. They can’t have it both ways.
Here’s more irony. The same guy leading the fight against Georgia, Bob Iger, has admitted that movies which show actors smoking induces people to smoke. In 2007, he said that Disney “will place an anti-smoking PSA [Public Service Announcement] on DVD’s of any future film that does depict smoking. In addition, we will work with theater owners to encourage the exhibition of an anti-smoking PSA before the theatrical exhibition of any such film.”
So Hollywood not only stopped making as many movies that featured smoking, it launched an educational anti-smoking campaign.
Imagine if Hollywood stopped making as many sexually saturated movies, and decided to launch an educational anti-promiscuity campaign? That might lead to behavioral changes, one of which would be a decrease in sexual recklessness, which in turn might lessen the need for an abortion option.
Bob Iger, and his colleagues in Hollywood, know what’s going on, but they don’t have the will to do anything about it. Instead, they are content to declare war on Georgia.
