By: Henry Wang

On Thursday, Walt Disney Co. announced that Disney’s new movie “Lightyear” is being blocked by authorities in the Muslim world. The reason why is due to the inclusion of a moment where a lesbian couple kisses.

The Disney company also said that along with the 13 nations that have blocked the Pixar film, the Palestinian territory also blocked the film.

The fact that the Muslim world has blocked the film creates a difficult challenge for Disney’s animated movie. An examination of the film predicts that it may be able to collect over $100 million for its first weekend.

In “Lightyear,” there is one scene of a female character (voiced by Uzo Aduba) kissing their partner who is also female. Many Muslim nations censored the scene because they deemed it too extreme, due to their laws punishing any sort of a relationship that involves two of the same sex.

Disney also stated that the following nations blocked the film from being shown in cinema or movie theaters. These countries include Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Qatar, and Syria. Also, the UAE also announced earlier in the week that they also wouldn’t allow the film to be shown.

Being gay and lesbian is mostly sinful in the Muslim world. In some parts of the Arab world, people who are part of the LGBTQ community could be arrested and go to prison. Some countries go as far as to give them the death penalty.

The actor Chris Evans explained to the Associated Press, “Yeah, it’s frustrating.” He also said, “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 time, there are still places that have not caught up.”

In the past, studios allowed censors for films in different countries, that included the Mideast market. But now more recently, Disney has seen protests from activists and staff over CEO Bob Chapek’s lack of response in criticizing Florida’s recent legislation, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in March that states that discussing subjects of sexual orientation in school for children in kindergarten through third grade is prohibited.

Disney originally cut the kiss moment from the film, but employees from Pixar protested on Disney until they changed it.