Time Warner, the corporate parent of CNN, is the latest company to publicly oppose a pending bill in Georgia that has been called discriminatory and “anti-LGBT.”
“We urge Governor Deal to exercise his veto,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
The three divisions of Time Warner — HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. — all do business in Georgia. Turner, the division that houses CNN, is based in Atlanta and has thousands of employees in Georgia.
21st Century Fox also joined the list of opponents on Thursday.
“On behalf of 21st Century Fox’s many creative partners and colleagues who choose to film their projects in the beautiful state of Georgia, we join the growing coalition of businesses in asking Governor Deal to veto this bill,” Fox said.
On Wednesday several other major media companies — Disney, Viacom and AMC Networks — publicly opposed the bill. Other firms like Apple, Dell, Hilton and Marriott have also spoken out.
Among the media companies, Disney has gone the furthest. It pledged to “take our business elsewhere should any legislation allowing discriminatory practices be signed into state law.”
The other media companies have stopped short of saying they’d boycott the state.
The bill in question, recently passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature, would give faith-based organizations in Georgia the option to deny services to gay people.
Proponents say the bill, dubbed the Free Exercise Protection Act, would protect religious freedoms.
Opponents like the Human Rights Campaign say it is “anti-LGBT” and “appalling.”
The bill is awaiting Republican Governor Nathan Deal’s signature.
Time Warner’s statement said, “We strongly oppose the discriminatory language and intent of Georgia’s pending religious liberty bill, which clearly violates the values and principles of inclusion and the ability of all people to live and work free from discrimination.”
“All of our divisions — HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner — have business interests in Georgia, but none more than Turner, an active participant in the Georgia Prospers campaign, a coalition of business leaders committed to a Georgia that welcomes all people,” the company added. “Georgia bill HB 757 is in contradiction to this campaign, to the values we hold dear, and to the type of workplace we guarantee to our employees.”
— Jackie Wattles contributed to this report.