Will Smith's new movie, the slave thriller Emancipation, is moving production from the US state of Georgia in protest at the passing of new laws which many believe will make it harder for minorities to vote.
Controversial new laws were passed in the southern state requiring all voters to present ID to fill out their voting ballot.
Emancipation is the first major production to boycott the state and in a joint statement Smith and director Antoine Fuqua said, "At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice.
"We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access. The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting."
They added: "Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state."
Emancipation tells the of former slave 'Whipped Peter’ Gordon, who became world famous after photos of him with scars on his back from being whipped and tortured emerged in 1863.
The film now looks set to move to Louisiana, the real-life setting for Gordon's enslavement.
Hollywood productions have a huge base in Georgia and bring more than $10billion in revenue for the state annually.
However, several high-profile figures in Georgia have voiced opposition to Smith and Fuqua’s move.
Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams said, "Boycotts work best when the target of your boycott is responsive, and unfortunately we are not dealing with good actors here. The governor of Georgia is revelling in the potential of a boycott because it gives him someone to blame for his own actions."
Martin Luther King’s daughter Bernice also urged Hollywood to "please stop" the boycott, saying such action would "hurt middle class workers and people grappling with poverty. And it would increase the harm of both racism and classism."
