A series of luxury hotels owned by the Kingdom of Brunei have hidden their social media accounts as the country comes under .
High-profile American celebrities, including George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John, have led the charge calling for people to boycott the hotels, which are operated under the Dorchester Collection brand.
In a statement released on their corporate social media accounts, the company said it "does not tolerate any form of discrimination".
"Although we believe in open and transparent communication, we have reluctantly deactivated our hotel social pages due to the personal abuse directed at our employees for whom we have a duty of care," the statement read.
"Our corporate social media pages remain in place. Dorchester Collection's Code emphasises equality, respect and integrity in all areas of our operation, and strongly values people and cultural diversity amongst our guests and employees."
The hotels in question are located in the US, UK, France and Italy, but that hasn't stopped businesses with similar names in other countries copping some abuse.
Greek Hotel Bel-Air posted on Facebook to clarify that they were not owned by the Sultan of Brunei.
"This is just a synonymity. We are a family owned business in the Ionian Islands of Greece and we support the LGBTQ community and their rights," they said.
Homosexuality has always been illegal in the tiny South-East Asian country but on Wednesday strict new Islamic laws came into force, making gay sex an offence punishable by stoning to death.
The rules are based on the strictest interpretation of Sharia, an Islamic law based on the Quran that also prescribes amputations for theft.
The Beverly Hills Hotel owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Source: AAP
Deutsche Bank has also reacted to the new laws, removing the Dorchester Collection from the list of hotels used by their employees.
"The new laws introduced by Brunei breach the most basic human rights, and we believe it is our duty as a firm to take action against them," the bank's chief risk officer Stuart Lewis said. On Wednesday, .
The boycott movement first gathered steam after actor George Clooney penned an opinion article for website Dateline listing the nine hotels owned by the Brunei kingdom.
"They’re nice hotels. The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties," he wrote.
"But let’s be clear, every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery."
Following the article, Elton John comended Clooney for taking a stand.
"Our hearts go out to the good, hardworking employees of properties owned by the Sultan of Brunei, many of whom we know to be gay," he said.
