Now Mike Pence has gone and done it! He’s got Hannah Montana cross with him.
Celebrities including Miley Cyrus and John Green have scorned Indiana’s new religious freedom bill in social media sound-offs that specifically target Gov. Mike Pence.
Showing off her vocabulary along with her penetrating intellect, Cyrus wrote, “You're an asshole @govpenceIN,” in an Instagram post, adding that “the only place that has more idiots that [sic] Instagram is in politics @braisoncwukong thank you for standing up for what is right! We need more strong heterosexual men fighting for equality in both men and women! Why are the macho afraid to love muchoooo?!?”
Reportedly kicked off by Star Trek actor George Takei, #BoycottIndiana has been trending on Twitter in response to the state’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“Outraged over Indiana Freedom to Discriminate law, signed today. LGBTs aren't 2nd class citizens. #BoycottIndiana #Pence,” the LGBT activist tweeted.
Author Green, who is known for writing such popular YA titles as The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, said he was “embarrassed” by the new law, responding with multiple tweets.
“As a Hoosier, I'm deeply saddened and embarrassed,” he wrote. “A government exists to protect its citizens; instead, it is legalizing their oppression.”
In another tweet, Green shared a news link about the bill, saying, “The law Indiana governor Mike Pence is signing today legalizes discrimination against LGBT people. It's horrific.”
Bravo talk show host Andy Cohen, who is gay, joined in with a tweet saying “Hey @GovPenceIN, how can you sleep at night??? Are you a human being??”
Sophia Bush, an actress who starred in the popular WB TV series One Tree Hill, followed Takei’s lead as well, saying, “Whelp. I live in the Midwest now, but I won't be visiting Indiana any time soon. #discrimination #equalitymatters.”
Singer-songwriter Jack Antonoff, the Bleachers frontman known for playing lead guitar for fun. and dating Lena Dunham, said he wouldn’t be canceling Indiana shows for its “awful laws.” Instead, he will be going and speaking out.
“The recent legislation in Indiana that gov. mike pence signed is repulsive and I fully intend to make that known when I'm in the state,” Antonoff tweeted, continuing with “SHAME on gov. mike pence who signed a bill that could allows business to turn away LGBTQ customers. GROW UP.”
Modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, SB 101 is intended simply to protect individuals from government interference when it comes to religion, according to Pence.
The law “prohibits a governmental entity from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless the governmental entity can demonstrate that the burden: (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering the compelling governmental interest.”
The RFRA paved the way for the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling last year to shield Hobby Lobby and other closely held corporations from having to cover contraception for employees if it conflicts with religious beliefs.
“This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way in Indiana, I would have vetoed it,” Pence said in a statement. “In fact, it does not even apply to disputes between private parties unless government action is involved. For more than twenty years, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act has never undermined our nation’s anti-discrimination laws, and it will not in Indiana.”
