Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ is banned in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Malaysia due to lesbian kiss which Disney took out but brought back amid staff fury at firm’s handling of Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill
- As of Monday, a total of nine countries have barred citizens from seeing the Toy Story spinoff, set to hit theatres later this week
- The ban has been largely confined to the Middle East, affecting markets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar
- It’s since stretched to other Muslim nations as well, like Malaysia and Indonesia
- The scene in question reportedly shows the female lead in film, voiced by actress Uzo Aduba, kissing her ‘female partner’ after starting a family
- Parent company Disney reportedly initially took out, but reinstated in March following complaints from offended staff
Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ has been banned in multiple counties due to the fact the animated film shows a same-sex kiss between two characters – a scene parent company Disney initially took out, but reinstated following complaints from offended staff.
As of Monday, a total of nine countries have barred citizens from seeing the Toy Story spinoff, set to hit theatres later this week.
The ban has been largely confined to the Middle East, affecting markets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar – but it has also stretched to other Muslim nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
The scene in question reportedly shows the female lead in film, voiced by actress Uzo Aduba, kissing her ‘female partner’ – a display the nations’ governments take issue with because it goes against their culture and religion.
Early Monday, the UAE – home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai – was the first to reveal they had banned the picture, which features actor Chris Evans voicing the inspiration for Tim Allen’s action figure Buzz Lightyear, made famous in the ‘Toy Story’ films.
Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ has been banned in multiple counties due to the fact the animated film shows a same-sex kiss between two characters – a scene parent company Disney initially took out, but reinstated following complaints from offended staff
As of Monday, a total of nine countries have barred citizens from seeing the Toy Story spinoff, set to hit theatres later this week
The country made the announcement through its Media Regulatory Office of the country’s Ministry of Youth and Culture, saying the film would not be opening Thursday, due to its violation of rules imposed on the nation’s media.
The film ‘is not licensed for public screening in all cinemas in the UAE, due to its violation of the country’s media content standards’, the office wrote.
The media watchdog further asserted that the ban was meant ‘to ensure the safety of the circulated content according to the appropriate age classification.’
The UAE, like the other countries listed, is Muslim-led and criminalizes same-sex relationships.
Other Middle Eastern nations were quick to follow the Emirates’ example, with Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar all implementing their own bans Monday.
The film was reportedly never submitted to censors in Saudi, due to producers’ assumptions that it would not pass because of the country’s outspoken disapproval of homosexuality.
The scene in question reportedly shows the female lead in film (at right), voiced by actress Uzo Aduba, kissing her ‘female partner’ – a display the nations’ governments take issue with because it goes against their culture and religion
Other West Asia territories with predominantly Muslim populations, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, also announced that they would not be airing the picture – one of the most anticipated of the year.
Malaysia recently had similar qualms over gay scenes in ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ and Elton John biopic ‘Rocket Man.’
The scene in question, which involves Aduba’s lesbian space ranger character, Alisha, and her partner starting a family together and greeting each other with a kiss on the lips, had been originally cut from the film by Disney earlier this year.
However, it was reinstated in March, after Pixar staffers complained about the censorship in an open letter obtained by Variety.
The scene in question reportedly shows the female lead in film (at right), voiced by actress Uzo Aduba, kissing her ‘female partner’ – a display the nations’ governments take issue with because it goes against their culture and religion
The letter criticized the company’s CEO Bob Chapek on his handling of the issue, accusing him attempting to censor ‘gay affection.’
The note further criticized his handling of Florida’s controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which saw the company at first take a tentative stance on the bill before succumbing to public pressure and condemning it.
The bill bans the teaching of lessons on sexuality, gender identity and sexual orientation from kindergarten up to third grade.
The mass nixing comes on the heels of a social media campaign with the Arabic hashtag ‘Ban Showing Lightyear in the Emirates’.
They described showing a lesbian couple on screen as being against their culture and religion.
Early Monday, t he UAE – home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai – was the first to reveal they had banned the picture, which features actor Chris Evans voicing the inspiration for Tim Allen’s action figure Buzz Lightyear, made famous in the ‘Toy Story’ films
The US State Department warns that Islamic – or Shariah – law in the UAE can include the death penalty for same-sex conduct, while Dubai can levy a 10-year prison sentence and Abu Dhabi allows for up to 14 years.
However, such prosecutions are rarely reported and LGBTQ individuals do live in the skyscraper-studded city-state of Dubai, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates.
The $200million Lightyear is expected to be a major draw for Disney, with analysts estimating it could gross over $100million just in its first weekend.
Studios have allowed censors to cut films in global distribution for content in the past, including in the Middle East market.
The nine countries to ban ‘Lightyear’ due to same-sex kiss
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Bahrain
- Egypt
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Qatar
- Malaysia
- Indonesia
- Saudi Arabia
Recently, Disney has faced protests from activists and its own staff over what they described as CEO Bob Chapek’s slow response to the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
A newspaper in the Persian Gulf island kingdom of Bahrain similarly has speculated the film will not be shown there.
Officials from Malaysia’s Film Censorship Board and the Home Affairs Ministry, as well as The Walt Disney Company, could not be immediately reached for comment.
It comes as the company has faced backlash for adjusting their content to avoid angering leaders in other countries, where US-made films rake in billions of dollars a year.
In one instance of self-censoring, Marvel Studios, which was acquired by Disney in 2009, allegedly added a scene to the Chinese version of 2013’s Iron Man 3, in which Chinese doctors are shown trying to save Iron Man’s life.
A report penned in 2020, however, by free-speech nonprofit PEN America, revealed that Chinese regulators were allowed to visit the movie’s set during filming and ‘advise’ on certain creative choices.
It also notes that another Disney film, superhero flick Dr. Strange, nixed a major Tibetan character over fears that it would jeopardize the film’s chances of making money in China.
Aside from removing or overhauling their content, Disney has also been known to manipulate other media, specifically those that advertise their titles overseas.
In 2015 and 2018, respectively, the company amended the movie posters of two of its most popular productions, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Black Panther, to appeal more to a Chinese audience.
The changes implemented, however, sparked outrage among many in the US, as many deemed the logic behind the changes to be entrenched in racial bias.
In the Chinese version of the Star Wars poster, for instance, seemed to deliberately leave out or downplay characters of color featured on the advert.
John Boyega, a black, British actor who had a major role in the film and was prominently featured on the US poster, was inexplicably shrunk on the Chinese version. Meanwhile, other characters played by non-white actors, including Lupita Nyong’o, a black woman; and Oscar Isaac, a Latino, were omitted entirely.
Such instances spurred US attorney general William Barr to slam Hollywood’s largely liberal film industry last year, saying that execs are ‘all too willing to collaborate with the Chinese Communist Party.’
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