The authorities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced that the Pixar film Lightyear will not be able to be released in theaters in the country after the controversy unleashed by the inclusion of a scene in which two characters of the same sex kiss, initially cut by Disney and later included after criticism from company employees.
“The Office of Media Regulation announces that the animated film ‘Lightyear’, which was to be released on June 16, is not allowed to be broadcast in public in all cinemas in the UAE due to its violation of standards on media content in the country,” the agency said in a series of messages on its Twitter social network account.
“The office confirms that all films shown in theaters in the country are subject to monitoring and evaluation activities before the date of release to the public to guarantee the security of the circulated content, according to the appropriate age classification,” he said, without commenting. about the reasons that led to this decision.
‘Lightyear’, a ‘spin off’ of the popular movie ‘Toy Story’, was controversial for the removal of a scene in which two female characters who share a relationship kiss each other, later included after a letter of protest published by Pixar workers, according to ‘Variety’.
In the letter, the workers denounced that Disney had demanded cuts in “virtually all moments of openly gay affection, regardless of the protests of the creative teams and the executive leadership of Pixar”.
“At Pixar we have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, being returned with cutouts and turned to rubble after review by Disney’s corporate ranks,” the letter highlighted. Even if creating LGBTI content were the answer to fixing discriminatory legislation around the world, we are prevented from creating it.
UAE authorities regularly censor material that allegedly violates government-set standards, including any content deemed to “offend Islamic beliefs” or “violate public morals” or “confuse the public”, as reported by the Al Arabiya television network. In addition, homosexuality remains illegal in the country.
