9 films you won't believe were banned in other countries over LGBTQ+ scenes (2024)

From Queer-coded flicks to modern Pride masterpieces, cinema has consistently offered a nuanced look at LGBTQ+ lives.

Over 100 years, films have helped to preserve the history of the community while also challenging prejudices facing people of varying identities.

However, this hatred is sadly still ingrained into society with many films being banned across the world simply for addressing LGBTQ+ themes – and sometimes, just for having actors who identify as Queer.

Elton John biopic Rocketman, cowboy epic Brokeback Mountain, and gay teen romance Call Me By Your Name were all banned in various countries for championing LGBTQ+ lives.

But other films that you wouldn’t immediately associate being LGBTQ+ films have found themselves banned or heavily censored due to the same themes.

Here are 9 films that were bizarrely banned for their LGBTQ+ themes – from Disney classics to a horror hit.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse was banned in The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia with many fans believing it was down to one scene.

Though regulatory bodies didn’t state the exact reason the film was banned, it is thought to be down to a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene where a transgender pride flag with the slogan ‘Protect Trans Lives’ can be seen on a bedroom wall.

The film explores the character race of Gwen Stacy, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, whom many viewers interpreted as a trans-coded character.

She conceals her true identity from her father, while scenes in her character’s dimension predominantly feature the colours of the trans flag.

However, Stacy has not explicitly been identified as a transgender character within the franchise.

Barbie

Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking film Barbie never saw the light of day in Kuwait and Lebanon after it was accused of ‘promoting hom*osexuality and sexual transformation.’

Lebanese culture minister Mohammad Mortada said the film ‘contradicts values of faith and morality,’ adding that it ‘goes against moral and religious values in Lebanon, as it encourages perversity and gender transformation while calling for the rejection of patriarchy and ridiculing the role of mothers.’

Thee Kuwaiti Ministry of Information additionally said it ‘promulgates ideas and beliefs that are alien to Kuwaiti society and public order,’ according to the official Kuna news agency.

It wasn’t the only reason the film was banned, with it never being released in Vietnam over a contentious map scene.

The Barbie ban was decided by the National Film Evaluation Council as it includes a map that features a nine-dash line, used to represent China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Lightyear

Toy Story spin-off Lightyear, focusing on Chris Evans’ Buzz Lightyear, was banned in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Malaysia after introducing an LGBTQ+ character to the franchise.

The movie features a sweet romance between Uzo Aduba’s Alisha Hawthorne and Kiko in a series of scenes that led to Lightyear not being released there.

While the UAE’s Media Regulatory Office did not give a specific reason for its decision, it stated the Disney and Pixar film was banned for its ‘violation of the country’s media content standards.’

The country criminalises consensual same-sex sexual activity between adults.

Taika Waititi, who voiced Mo Morrison in the film, described the same-sex love story as ‘awesome’ and praised Disney for its representation.

‘It would be wonderful to one day get to a place where it doesn’t have to be a talking point. The idea that, to go and watch a movie and that’s your big problem? That’s crazy!’ he told Metro.co.uk.

‘You never hear people going, “Oh, did you see that movie where that man and that woman kissed?!” If we can just let that go, love is love, if we can normalise it, then we’re moving towards a good space.

‘And when studios make these tiny little steps towards that, just like having a same-sex relationship, it’s just steps towards normalising it and I think you can’t ask for more than that.’

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness

The second Doctor Strange film was banned in Saudi Arabia for including a gay character.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness introduces the comic book character America Chavez, played by Xochitl Gomez, who is gay.

The doctor himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, criticised the ‘repressive regimes’ for their ‘lack of tolerance’ and said it is proof of the importance of including characters from different backgrounds.

‘It’s difficult not to become emotional about it, to be honest. But it is, I’m afraid, an expected disappointment,’ he said.

‘We’ve come to know from those repressive regimes that their lack of tolerance is exclusionary to people who deserve to be not only included but celebrated for who they are, and made to feel a part of a society and a culture and not punished for their sexuality.’

The Imitation Game actor described the ban as ‘truly out of step with everything that we’ve experienced as a species, let alone where we’re at globally as a culture.’

Eternals

Eternals was banned across much of the Gulf following the inclusion of the MCU’s first openly gay superhero.

One scene shows the character Phaston (Brian Tyree Henry) and his on-screen husband Ben (Haaz Sleiman) sharing a passionate kiss.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait banned the film after requesting Marvel make edits to the film – something they refused.

The ban was widely criticised, withthe likes of Angelina Jolie slamming itas ‘ignorant.’

The actor, who appears in Eternals as Thena, said she was ‘sad’ for thecountries that banned her filmover a scene of two men kissing.

‘I’m sad for [those audiences]. And I’m proud of Marvel for refusing to cut those scenes out,’ she said.

‘I still don’t understand how we live in a world today where there’s still [people who] would not see the family Phastos has and the beauty of that relationship and that love.’

Scream VI

Lebanon also banned slasher hit Scream VI over its inclusion of openly LGBTQ+ characters.

The sixth film in the wildly popular horror franchise features Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Anika Kayoko (Devyn Nekoda) in a relationship, briefly sharing a kiss in one scene.

Film critic Anis Tabet wrote on X at the time: ‘Saw Brokeback Mountain on the big screen in Lebanon back in 2006. Today, #Scream6 (a solid sequel by the way) has been banned in Lebanon because of LGBT characters.’

The film was widely celebrated for introducing openly Queer characters to the franchise, rather than Queer-coded representations.

West Side Story

Disney’s 2021 musical West Side Story was banned in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

Why? Because it included transgender character Anybodys, played by nonb-binary star Iris Menas.

Producer Kevin McCollum addressed the bands, telling The Hollywood Reporter ‘love will win.’

‘I think we have to remember that during [William] Shakespeare’s time, at the height, the Puritans came in and tore all of the theaters down. You couldn’t go to the theater, and yet Shakespeare survived,’ he said.

‘So this being a film that exists in the world, it might try to be stopped in certain places, but it will be found. I believe that love will win, and this is a story about love, made with love, and what happens when you try to keep people from loving freely. I think we’ve done our jobs as artists to make this film, and the world will discover it even if certain cultures decide they don’t want it in their borders.

‘This film will overcome any border because it will be seen. It came out of a love affair of honoring the theater and trying to capture a film that reflects today with the same ideas of how difficult it is to love when you are taught to hate. That’s why, hopefully, this film has butterfly wings of changing people’s belief systems. We’re all in this together on this planet, and love is what leads, so that’s why we sing.’

David Alvarez, who starred as Bernardo in the film, added: ‘It’s a little sad that that still exists around the world, and I think that’s why movies like this are so important. This movie has so many different messages and layers that really resonate with people around the world.’

Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor sequel Love and Thunder was banned in Malaysa due to its LGBTQ+ elements, government officials confirmed.

The film seens Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, pursue a romantic interested in one of Zeus’ concubines.

There is also a scene in which Valkyrie is told by Korg that he has two fathers, and that Kronan people ‘conceive’ when two men hold hands over a pit of lava.

Malaysia’s Film Censorship Board requested Marvel make cuts to the film, which once again, they denied.

Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin said: ‘Recently there was a film that did not pass censorship, that is the new Thor film.

‘[The movie] touched on LGBT but we see right now there are many films with LGBT elements that slip past the censorship.’

American Conservative group One Million Moms also called for the film to be banned due to ‘blatant LGBTQ+ content’, but was unsuccessful.

A representative said in a statement: ‘One Million Moms needs your help to make sure as many people as possible are aware that Marvel Studios is pushing the LGBTQ+ agenda on families in their newest superhero movie.

‘The alien character named Korg mentions having two dads… The bisexual goddess, King Valkyrie, kisses another woman’s hand to show interest… An Asgardian kid insists on going by a gender-neutral name. And the gay romantic tension between Thor and Star-Lord is apparent but played off as a gag.

‘Marvel has decided to be politically correct instead of providing family-friendly programming. But Marvel should stick to entertaining, not pushing an agenda.’

Talk To Me

A24 possession horror Talk To Me had fans in a frenzy when it came to cinemas – but genre lovers in Kuwait never got a chance to see the film.

It was banned simply because Zoe Terakes, a transgender actor, was cast in the film, despite their transness never being discussed onscreen.

Trans people in the Middle Eastern country were previously criminalised but the law was found to be unconstitutional in 2022.

Terakes addressed the band in an Instagram post, writing: ‘Our film doesn’t actually ever mention my transness, or my queerness.

‘I am a trans actor who happened to get the role. I’m not a theme. I’m a person. Kuwait has banned this film due to my identity alone. Reportedly, this is a first. This is a new precedent. It is targeted and dehumanising and means to harm us. As much as it is very sad to be on the receiving end of this, what is even more heartbreaking is what this precedent means for the queer and trans people of Kuwait.’

‘Representation is hope’ the actor added. ‘Representation is a light at the end of the tunnel, a reason to keep going, something to hold onto in the dark, a voice that whispers things can be better than they are. Eliminating trans actors on screens will not eliminate trans people (as much as the government of Kuwait wishes it would) but it will eliminate a lot of hope. And hope is such a large part of how we live as marginalised people.

‘It’s how we learn to move through the hatred and the mistreatment and the violence. We look to all the people who have done it before us, we look to all the people who are doing it beside us, and that gives us hope to keep going. We are a community that has learnt to depend on each other, because cis people have historically been no help.’

They continued: ‘Therefore, our survival is so dependent on our ability to look to each other, to share with each other, to lean on each other, to love each other, to see each other. My heart breaks for the trans people and queer people of Kuwait who have so few places to look.

‘If you feel angry, sad or confused by this, consider donating to the Rainbow Railroad; an organisation that helps queer and trans people access safety and lives free from persecution worldwide.’

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