John Legend has refused to play at a pre-Grammys party this weekend after learning that it would take place at a hotel owned by the Sultan of Brunei.

Legend was due to be honoured by LA Confidential magazine at the Beverly Hills Hotel tonight (February 5) but declined the invite in protest at the hotel’s owner, renowned for ruling a country where misogyny and homophobia are prevalent.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has owned the hotel since 1992, but has come under fire in the last year for Brunei’s increasingly oppressive laws.
Legend’s press representative confirmed her client’s absence and the reasons behind it in a statement. “John Legend will not be attending the LA Confidential party… in light of the horrific anti-women and anti-LGBT policies approved by the hotel’s owner, the Sultan of Brunei,” Amanda Silverman told the Hollywood Reporter. “These policies, which among other things could permit women and LGBT Bruneians to be stoned to death, are heinous and certainly don’t represent John’s values or the spirit of the event.”

A spokesperson for LA Confidential responded to this, arguing that the magazine’s beliefs are not in line with those of the hotel owner’s. “Los Angeles Confidential Magazine is an avid supporter of equal rights for all people. Our decision to hold our event at the hotel in no way suggests that we support any anti-human rights policies.”

Those who oppose the Sultan of Brunei, including mayor of Beverly Hills Lilli Bosse, have boycotted the Beverly Hills hotel since Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah implemented anti-women and anti-LGBT laws in May 2014. These new laws include punishments such as amputations or death by stoning for people involved in same sex or adulterous relationships.