The Motion Picture Association and Disney have joined the ranks of companies refusing to donate to members of Congress who voted not to certify the presidential election results.
In a statement on Tuesday night, the Hollywood trade group said that it was “shocked and saddened by the horrific events” at the Capitol last week. Patrick Kilcur, the group’s executive vice president of public affairs, said the MPA would suspend contributions “for the foreseeable future” to the eight senators and 139 representatives who voted to reject votes from Arizona or Pennsylvania.
Disney also said its political action committee would not make contributions in 2021 to any of those members of Congress.
“The insurrection at our nation’s Capitol was a direct assault on one of our country’s most revered tenets: the peaceful transition of power,” Disney said in a statement. “In the immediate aftermath of that appalling siege, Members of Congress had an opportunity to unite — an opportunity that some sadly refused to embrace. In light of these events, we have decided we will not make political contributions in 2021 to lawmakers who voted to reject the certification of the Electoral College votes.”
They join Comcast and AT&T — parent companies of two other Motion Picture Association members — which pledged on Monday to suspend their contributions. Amazon also suspended its PAC contributions to those members, saying it did not wish to support an “unacceptable attempt to undermine a legitimate democratic process.”
A slew of other companies have made similar statements in recent days, including Facebook, Google and Microsoft, which said they would suspend all political giving while they reviewed their policies.
In the MPA statement, Kilcur said that the mob assault on Capitol Hill hit close to home for many of the trade group’s staffers.
“What’s more, many MPA and member company employees, myself included, spent many years of our careers working in the Capitol as congressional staff,” Kilcur said. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with our friends and colleagues who bravely endured last week’s assault — and continue to serve our country during these challenging times.”
The move comes as the House of Representatives prepares to impeach President Trump for his role in the attack on the Capitol.