By: Isabella Wong

On Thursday, June 16, 2022, Disney’s latest animated film premiered and then swiftly got barred by thirteen countries and the Palestinian territory. According to the UAE, the movie got banned for violating the countries content policies. “Lightyear” is an animated film that stars Chris Evans voicing the protagonist of the movie, Buzz Lightyear.

The movie involved a female character, Alisha Hawthorne, kissing her female partner.

According to ABC News, it “proved too much for censors in many Muslin-majority nations” and that laws “criminalize same-sex relationships” in these countries. Therefore, the film was not allowed to be shown in countries including Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, and many more.

Some Muslim countries consider being gay or lesbian to be sinful. ABC News mentioned that in the Arab world, the people of the LGBTQ+ community have been punished severely, and these punishments include getting arrested and sentenced to prison for being gay. In addition to this, other countries have the death penalty in place as punishment for those who identify to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Evans told the Associated Press, “It feels good to be a part of something that is making social progress, but it’s with this ribbon of bittersweet frustration that at the same time, there are still places that have not caught up.” The cast of the movie even called the decision made by the UA and the other countries disappointing. Disney has had to deal with protesters, such as Ted Cruz. He ranted on about “lesbian toys” being sold as the movie’s merchandise. According to New York Times, the kiss lead to the banning of the move in about 14 Middle Eastern and Asian countries.

In late March, Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that “forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.” (ABC News). Studies made in the past have shown that students with LGBTQ youth can be exposed to higher health and suicide risks. Since the movie is most likely going to be seen by some of those young students, the scene was, later on, removed from the film but was then restored after a protest held by Pixar.

Sources:

ABC News