If the governors of North Carolina and Mississippi ever decide to cut their losses and repeal two recently passed laws that many see as discriminatory, it won’t be because Hollywood bullied them into doing so.
The entertainment industry has been threatening to take their business away from the Tar Heel and Magnolia States in protest of two bold new laws: North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which states that residents must use the bathroom or locker room that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificates; and Mississippi’s House Bill 1523, a “religious liberty” law meant to protect its citizens from engaging in activities directly going against their religions.
Though the response to the two bills has been overwhelmingly negative, some have espoused their virtues, like when presidential candidate and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz defended North Carolina by saying “men should not be going to the bathroom with little girls.”
The entertainment industry and many other high-profile entities, however, are crying foul, claiming that North Carolina’s law is biased against transgender people, and that Mississippi’s is a thinly veiled excuse to discriminate against the LGBT community.
Musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams and Ringo Starr have canceled concerts in the two states, Broadway heavyweight Stephen Schwartz revoked North Carolina’s right to perform shows he composed, and 95 authors from Mississippi, including The Help novelist Kathryn Stockett, signed a letter condemning Gov. Phil Bryant’s decision to sign that state’s bill into law.
These are efforts to display solidarity with the states’ LGBT populations and, they hope, strong-arm Bryant and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory to repeal these laws by threatening the states’ economies. Unfortunately for Hollywood’s agenda, both states’ economies can survive an entertainment industry boycott.
According to the Charlotte Observer, North Carolina added $220 million to its economy in 2011 off projects like “Iron Man 3” and “Homeland” filming within its borders. Even if that number has doubled, maybe tripled in recent years as Hollywood flocks to take advantage of the state’s 25 percent tax rebate for movie-makers, here’s the thing: North Carolina’s GDP in 2014 was $481.9 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If Hollywood were to stop filming in North Carolina, it would hurt the state’s image much more than its wallets.
Mississippi would have even less of an incentive to make any moves based on Hollywood pressure. The state has the same 25 percent tax break as North Carolina, and was estimated to take in about $40 million from film projects in 2011.
That wouldn’t make much of a dent in the state’s BEA-estimated $104.8 billion 2014 GDP. Mississippi would also lose the 1,602 jobs and $22.9 million in wages provided by Hollywood in 2010 and 2011, but that still might not give Bryant any reason to pick up his pen.
Unfortunately for Hollywood, North Carolina and Mississippi won’t be as easy to crack as Georgia, a state that reportedly took in $1.7 billion in “Walking Dead” and Marvel Studios money in 2015 against a 2014 $474.7 state GDP. When everyone from Disney to Harvey Weinstein threatened to pull out of production deals in Georgia over a potential religious liberty law, Gov. Nathan Deal felt his wallet noticeably shrink and decided to nip that legislation in the bud.
Not even the NBA deciding to pull its 2017 All-Star Weekend out of Charlotte, N.C., would force McCrory’s hand. Though he might miss the $106.1 million economic boost New Orleans received during All-Star Weekend 2014, Steph Curry would just be free to rain three’s somewhere else with minimal financial impact on North Carolina.
You know who might be able to get McCrory and Bryant’s attention? Google.
The company has already publicly declared its disgust with North Carolina’s law, calling it “misguided and wrong.” If Google were to just stop allowing residents of the two states to use its advertising tools and other business-friendly features, 59,000 North Carolina businesses, website publishers and nonprofits would be out a combined $1.5 billion, and 4,500 Mississippians who rely on Google would need to find an extra $63.8 million lying around.
Other companies like Deutsche Bank and PayPal have already canceled plans to expand in North Carolina, costing the state at least 650 combined jobs.
So if Sharon Stone moving a film production out of Mississippi won’t affect the status quo, maybe corporate America will champion the cause of the little guy for once.
Joshua Axelrod covers the intersection of entertainment and politics for the Washington Examiner.
