Online Petition Targets SOPA Comments from MPAA Chief Chris Dodd on Fox News

6:00 AM PST 1/23/2012 by Georg Szalai

0
0
0
0
0
Email
Print
Comments

Matt Petit/©AMPAS

Critics speak of "an open admission of bribery," but a spokesman says he merely made an obvious point when he said: "Those who count on quote Hollywood for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them."

NEW YORK - Following last week's decision in Congress to delay action on controversial anti-piracy legislation, MPAA head Chris Dodd is now facing online criticism for a comment he made on a Fox News program last week, the Los Angeles Times reported.

SOPA Defeat Is Not the End Of Hollywood's Ramped-Up Fight Against Piracy (Analysis)

MPAA Head Chris Dodd Calls for Meeting Between Hollywood, Tech Giants to Reach SOPA Compromise

It cited an online petition from Sunday that claimed more than 10,000 signatures demanding that the White House investigate interview comments from Dodd about weakening political support of to the so-called SOPA bill in the House of Representatives and the similar PIPA bill in the Senate.

"Those who count on quote Hollywood for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake," Dodd had said. "Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake."  

The petition argues that the comments amount to "an open admission of bribery and a threat designed to provoke a specific policy goal," the Times reported.

An MPAA spokesman said though: "Senator Dodd was merely making the obvious point that people support politicians whose views coincide with their own. When politicians take positions that people disagree with, those people tend not to support those politicians."

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai