Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have all banned Disney & Pixar’s new film “Onward” due to the film containing a throwaway line by a supporting character referring to her lesbian relationship.
In the scene, two brothers (voiced by Chris Pratt and Tom Holland) get into a conversation about parenting with two female police officers. One of them is a purple cyclops officer named Specter (voiced by Lena Waithe) who says “it’s not easy being a new parent – my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?”.
Waithe’s character has been heralded as Disney’s first openly gay character, but the single moment has caused the entire film to be banned in those countries – though other Middle East markets like Bahrain, Lebanon and Egypt are showing it.
Russia is also showing it, but changes the girlfriend reference to ‘partner’ and avoids mentioning Specter’s gender. “Onward” began its run last night, making $2 million in previews.
Source: Deadline
