Disney-Pixar’s upcoming film Lightyear has reportedly been banned in Saudi Arabia due to a a same-sex kiss scene, as per The Hollywood Reporter. The film follows last year’s Eternals and more recently Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which were banned for similar reasons in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries like Qatar and Kuwait.
While Eternals also featured a same-sex kiss, one of Multiverse of Madness’ major characters, America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez) was gay.
As per THR, the reason for the ban was a scene involving the character Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) and her partner. The kiss scene was apparently cut from the film by Disney but was reinstated after protest from Pixar employees who accused the studio of removing “overtly gay affection”.
Lightyear, Pixar’s first film after this year’s Turning Red, is a spinoff of the studio’s Toy Story franchise and tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, who first appeared in the 1995 movie, the first feature from the Pixar called Toy Story.
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PremiumThe character, which also spawned a series called Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and a movie called Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, was voiced by Tim Allen in the Toy Story movies, and in Lightyear, Chris Evans, best known as MCU’s former Captain America, takes over.
Keke Palmer, Dale Soules, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn, Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez and Isiah Whitlock Jr have also lent their voices. Directed by Angus MacLane, Lightyear releases on June 17.
