Saudi Arabia has asked Disney to remove ‘lgbti references’ from ‘Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness’ before the film can be shown in Saudi Arabia. According to various sources, Disney refuses to cut the film.
–
The latest Marvel scion will appear in theaters next week, but it remains uncertain whether the film may also be released in Saudi Arabia. There have been conflicting reports about the film over the past week. According to The Hollywood Reporter the film is said to have been banned in the country because of an LGBTI reference. The Guardian reports that the film will be released in theaters.
The Middle Eastern country takes offense at 12 seconds in the film, in which a lesbian character refers to ‘her two mothers’. Homosexuality is a serious crime in Saudi Arabia. The country is known for its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia, which is also the basis of its legal system.
“She just talks about her mothers because she has two,” said Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabia’s general supervisor of film rating. “And because she lives in the Middle East, it’s very hard to pass something like that. We sent that comment to the distributor, and the distributor in turn forwarded it to Disney.” In the end, Disney responded that they were unwilling to cut in the film.
Alsabhan told French news agency AFP that the film will not be banned in Saudi Arabia. The film will never be banned. It’s a simple montage,” he said. So far they have refused. But we haven’t closed the door yet. We’re still trying.
Not the first time
It’s not the first time a Marvel movie has run into trouble with Saudi regulators. In November, ‘The eternals’, which features a gay couple, led to requests from Saudi Arabia, among others, to adapt the film. Disney refused to make the adaptations, so the film could not be seen in cinemas.
Saudi Arabia lifted a decades-long ban on all cinemas in late 2017, as part of a series of social reforms under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
–
