President Barack Obama’s opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) may have consequences when it comes to his campaign war chest. The president routinely journeys to Los Angeles to seek Hollywood cash for his re-election coffer.
In the midst of a public relations battle and lobbying war, which has been taking place between Hollywood and Silicon Valley over proposed anti-piracy bills, the entertainment industry was recently blindsided by the Obama administration.
The administration opted to join with the opposition to the proposed legislation that had prompted a protest blackout by prominent websites such as Wikipedia and Boing Boing.
Entertainment industry blogger Nikki Finke’s deadline.com reported that major studio heads were upset by the Obama administration's opposition to SOPA and have vowed not to contribute any additional money to the president’s re-election campaign.
Since Obama weighed in on the side of Silicon Valley and criticized the legislation, support for the anti-piracy bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate has been diminishing.
In the report, Finke characterized the studio executive contribution embargo as a “declaration of war” against Obama.
A studio head was quoted in the report as saying, “We just feel very let down by the administration and Obama for not supporting us.”
Another trade publication, The Hollywood Reporter, took great pains to point out that “while individual Hollywood executives may decide [to] pull back on their support” of the president, sources told the trade publication that “there is no collective ‘boycott’ planned because of the president's decision.”
DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, a top bundler for Obama, will reportedly continue to raise campaign cash for the president.
“Although disappointed with the White House statement on SOPA, Jeffrey Katzenberg will continue to fundraise for Obama,” Andy Spahn, political consultant for Katzenberg, said.
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