Dean Cain Puts Alyssa Milano and Co. on Blast for Opposition to 'Heartbeat Bill': 'Huge Mistake'
Georgia is set to become the latest state to enact legislation that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, and liberal Hollywood thinks it has the perfect way to stop it: Boycott the state.
A petition against the bill, HB 481, has garnered more than 100 signatures from actors like Don Cheadle, Mia Farrow, Patton Oswalt, Amy Schumer, Judd Apatow and Alec Baldwin who say they’ll refuse to work in the state if Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signs the bill, according to CBS News.
The petition has been spearheaded by actress Alyssa Milano, who’s shooting currently the Netflix series “Insatiable” in Atlanta.
To @BrianKempGA & Speaker Ralston:
Attached, is an open letter signed by 50 actors against #HB481. On behalf of the undersigned–as people often called to work in GA or those of us contractually bound to work in GA–we hope you’ll reconsider signing this bill. #HBIsBadForBusiness pic.twitter.com/DsOmAWYU2x— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) March 28, 2019
Georgia, which gives heavy tax breaks to the film industry, is the third-leading state for film production behind California and New York, so the threat isn’t entirely idle. However, as conservative actor Dean Cain pointed out in an appearance on Fox News, the proposed boycott is yet another example of how Hollywood celebrities seem to believe they can control the narrative in a state most of them don’t reside in.
“The hubris of Hollywood to say to a sovereign state like Georgia, you guys have to follow our beliefs on abortion, is ridiculous,” Cain said during a Friday appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
“For Hollywood to tell Georgia voters what their views should be on abortion is a huge mistake, and I think it’s a giant overstep. But, you know, it’s Hollywood, and Hollywood has done that before.”
And Cain — probably best known for playing Superman/Clark Kent on the ABC series “Lois and Clark” — said the state can survive the hit if Hollywood decides to boycott.
“Those tax incentives that bring in studios, honest to goodness, don’t make a huge fiscal impact on the state,” Cain said.
“So if people don’t show up to work in Georgia, it’s not going to hurt Georgians very much at all in the pocketbook, and I think it’s a ridiculous thing to go for.”
Cain also stated his belief that Milano’s petition was far from a spontaneous reaction to Georgia’s HB 481.
“I don’t think Alyssa Milano is doing this out of her own volition, I think she’s got somebody behind her, a group behind her, for her to be quoting certain things and creating these protests — I don’t think she’s doing it by herself,” Cain said.
Whether or not Milano’s movement was astroturfed is a matter of debate. So, too, is whether or not HB 481 will survive judicial scrutiny; a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi was struck down last year and a fetal heartbeat bill would cut abortions off at six weeks.
But those are irrelevant to the larger point here: Why does Hollywood think it has the power to determine what happens in individual states?
If these individuals don’t want to work in Georgia, that’s fine. There is a certain hubris, however — Cain had the perfect word — in believing that celebrities are the ones who can make the difference between the passage or failure of a bill.
It’s an odd sight when Alyssa Milano — not a resident of Georgia by any means — stands on the steps of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta and delivers a jeremiad against a bill passed by the representatives of a sovereign state as if she holds the fate of the entire effort in her hands.
The endeavor doesn’t seem to have worked:
“The legislature’s bold action reaffirmed our priorities and who we are as a state,” Gov. Kemp wrote on Twitter on Friday. “I thank these lawmakers for their leadership and applaud their undeniable courage.”
We can await what the voters of Georgia and the courts have to say about HB 481. As for Alyssa Milano and her retinue, I think we can safely say that Hollywood hasn’t affected this in any substantive way.
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