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Tiffany Haddish Has Postponed Her Atlanta Show Over Georgia's Abortion Ban

In light of the recent wave of state-by-state attempts to block women’s access to safe and legal abortions, many high-profile women have been speaking out about their own experiences with abortion in order to draw awareness to the critical issue—and to serve as calls to action. Jameela Jamil spoke out in May about the pregnancy she terminated, and Ashley Judd also recently spoke about her own experiences securing an abortion in Georgia after she was raped. After the state’s extreme abortion ban passed in May, celebrities and studios have also been threatening to boycott working in Georgia, which would hit the state where it hurts: The film industry had a total economic impact of $9.5 billion there during the 2018 fiscal year, according to the state. Now, Tiffany Haddish has escalated the conversation by postponing her Atlanta show in protest over the abortion ban.

“After much deliberation, I am postponing my upcoming show in Atlanta. I love the state of Georgia, but I need to stand with women, and until they withdraw Measure HB481, I cannot in good faith perform there,” Haddish said in a statement on Saturday, according to CNN—making her the first celebrity to effectively cancel a performance over the ban. As Jezebel points out, it’s unlikely that Georgia will voluntarily strike down the law before it takes effect. (Ticket-holders will be refunded by the theater.)

Georgia’s law, set to take effect Jan. 1, 2020, will ban abortions after six weeks (before many women realize they’re pregnant) and criminalize them as well. Residents there won’t even be allowed to travel out of state to receive a legal abortion, or they could be charged with conspiracy to commit murder. The law only makes exceptions in cases of incest, medical danger to the pregnant person, and rape—though, for the latter, that’s only if there’s a police report filed.

So far, it seems like many are waiting to follow through until the law actually takes effect—it could be struck down by courts before Jan. 1. Among them, Netflix: “We have many women working on productions in Georgia, whose rights, along with millions of others, will be severely restricted by this law,” the company’s chief content officer said in a May statement to Glamour. “It’s why we will work with the ACLU and others to fight it in court. Given the legislation has not yet been implemented, we’ll continue to film there—while also supporting partners and artists who choose not to. Should it ever come into effect, we’d rethink our entire investment in Georgia.”

Now that Haddish has postponed her performance, it remains to be seen if other celebrities, studios, and companies follow her lead.

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Ashley Judd Opposes Georgia's Abortion Ban as a Rape Survivor

Ashley Judd may have begun her career as an actress, but over the years she has become an outspoken public advocate and activist for women’s rights around the world. She was one of the first women to go on the record with her allegations against Harvey Weinstein, has spoken passionately at the Women’s March, and is well-known for her global humanitarian work.

This week, Judd spoke at the Women in the World Summit about another cause close to her heart: abortion rights. The conversation between Judd and moderator Katie Couric turned to Georgia’s controversial “heartbeat bill” which, if passed, would prohibit abortions after a heartbeat is detected which is typically five to six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy. At that point, many women don’t yet realize they’re pregnant.

“As everyone knows, and I’m very open about it, I’m a three-time rape survivor. And one of the times I was raped, there was conception,” Judd said, per People. “And I’m very thankful I was able to access safe and legal abortion. Because the rapist, who is a Kentuckian…has paternity rights in Kentucky and Tennessee. I would’ve had to co-parent with my rapist.” (Judd resides in Tennessee.)

“So having safe access to abortion was personally important to me and, as I said earlier, democracy starts with our skin. We’re not supposed to regulate what we choose to do with our insides,” she continued.

People notes that it is unclear whether the rape that Judd speaks of resulted in a conviction because that could have nullified parental rights for the man, but Judd’s point is clear nonetheless. And it’s yet another chilling reminder of what is at stake for women when it comes to passing anti-choice legislation. There can be lifelong consequences to legislating what women can and cannot do with their own bodies.

Judd, along with other high-profile people in Hollywood like Alyssa Milano and Mandy Moore, have circulated a petition that promises to pull production from the state if the bill is signed into law.

There could be a serious economic impact for the state if Hollywood productions stop filming there though it’s still unclear at this point whether Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will sign the bill into law—in which case it will surely be challenged in the courts. He has until May 12 to make that decision.

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