Will Smith film pulls out of Georgia over 'regressive' voting law

Will Smith is no longer Georgia bound for his new movie in response to the state's controversial voting law.

Smith's upcoming slave drama Emancipation, which is being directed by Antoine Fuqua, is no longer planning to film in Georgia in response to the voting law recently passed in the state, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

"We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access," Smith and Fuqua said. "The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting. Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state."

The Georgia law implements ID requirements for absentee ballots that are "virtually certain to limit access to absentee voting," according to The New York Times, and it also limits where drop boxes may be placed and reduces the amount of time voters have to request absentee ballots, among other changes. Democrats have blasted the law, with President Biden labeling it a "blatant attack on the Constitution," and it prompted the MLB to pull the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta.

Georgia has attracted numerous major Hollywood film and television productions, including big-budget Marvel movies. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Smith's film is the first major production to leave the state in protest of the voting law — though the Reporter adds the move could pressure others to do the same.

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