The hotel is owned in part by the current sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who purchased the hotel in 1987 and transferred ownership to the Brunei Investment Agency four years later.

In 2014, the sultan imposed Sharia law that calls for, among other punishments, the stoning of LGBT individuals. Consensual anal intercourse between an unmarried heterosexual couple is also punishable by stoning.

The spokeswoman, Amanda Silverman, continued, "These policies, which among other things could permit women and LGBT Bruneians to be stoned to death, are heinous and certainly don't represent John's values or the spirit of the event. John does not, in any way, wish to further enrich the Sultan while he continues to enforce these brutal laws."