Malaysia says Disney refused to cut gay scenes in Lightyear movie
17 June 2022, 11:34
Films censors said scenes and dialogue were ‘found to contain elements promoting the LGBT lifestyle’.
Malaysia’s film censors have said it was Disney’s decision to pull the animated film Lightyear from the country’s cinemas after refusing to cut scenes showing homosexuality.
The Film Censorship Board said it approved the movie with parental guidance for those under 13 on the condition of modifications.
Scenes and dialogue that it “found to contain elements promoting the LGBT lifestyle which violate key aspects of the guidelines on the film censorship” were ordered to “be cut and muted”, the board said in a statement.
“However, the film distributors did not agree to comply with the instructions” and decided to cancel the screening, the board said, adding that it would not compromise on any LGBTQ scenes.
The board did not specify in the statement which scenes violated censorship guidelines.
Lightyear includes a female character, voiced by actress Uzo Aduba, briefly kissing her female partner in one scene in the 200 million dollar (£162 million) film.
Authorities across much of the Muslim world have barred Lightyear from being played at cinemas because it includes the brief kiss.
Many Muslims consider gays and lesbians to be sinful and many Muslim-majority nations criminalise same-sex relationships.
The United Arab Emirates announced it would ban the Pixar animated feature from showing in cinemas because of the kiss.
