Photo: Disney/Pixar
Lightyearwill not be allowed to play in theaters in a few Middle Eastern countries due to an LGBTQ moment in the Disney/Pixar film.
For more on what Chris Evans had to say aboutLightyearcritics, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
The UAE’s Media Regulatory OfficetweetedMonday thatLightyearis “not licensed for public screening in all cinemas in the UAE, due to its violation of the country’s media content standards.”
BBC Newsreportedthat another recent Disney film, Marvel’sDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, also didn’t play in Saudi Arabia after the country asked for the “LGBTQ references” to be removed.
Citing a source close to the production,Varietyreportedin March that theLightyearkiss was put back in the movie after at one point being cut. This was reportedly in response to Disney and Pixar staff uproar overDisney CEO Bob Chapek’s initial responseto Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
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Evans, 41,toldVanity Fairearlier this month of theLightyearkiss being reinstated in the movie, “It’s great that it’s back in the film. I think it’s a shame that it’s such a story. It should be more normalized, but I’m glad we are making those steps.”
Added Aduba, 41, “It’s incredible, and a real hats off to Disney and Pixar for having that kiss be a part of this story. The kiss is a greeting and a gesture of love that is tender. It does establish who they are as people, but it is not the singular identifier for who either of them are. Seeing a loving gay couple in a meaningful way is important for everybody.”
Galyn Susman, aLightyearproducer, toldVanity Fairthat it was “important” to “represent everybody” in the movie: “Representation is huge for us, and we want to make connections with as many people as possible. Alisha and her wife have a relationship that lasts an entire lifetime. We don’t have enough movies that show relationships that last an entire life, and that’s aspirational.”
source: people.com
