Taika Waititi Responds To Lightyear Same-Sex Kiss Being Banned In Some Countries
Taika Waititi has responded to the news that certain countries wanted to ban Lightyear due to a same-sex kiss.
Actors Chris Evans and Taika Waititi were both promoting the film on ITV's This Morning today (13 June) and decided to respond to the recent news regarding the kiss.
The same-sex kiss is shared between character Alicia (voiced by Uzo Aduba) and her partner, who is also a woman, in one particular scene from the upcoming Disney flick.
After the United Arab Emirates among a few other countries put a ban on the film for this very reason, initially, the scene was said to be cut completely. However, it ended up being added back in after the move was met with a wave of backlash from the LGBTQ+ community.
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Letters from LGBTQ+ employees over at Pixar, along with their allies, publicly voiced their disapproval, accusing the entertainment company of censoring and minimising 'overtly gay affection' in its content.
On the show this morning, Schofield asked the actors: "One day this question won't need to be asked. One day it will just be a thing that is completely without a need for conversation.
"There is an LGTBQ storyline here which was a little bit controversial because there is the same-sex kiss, it was taken out, and it got put back in again.
"So, what's happened around here?"
Waititi replied with: "Well, I mean, it's in, right? It's in, which is great, and you're right, one day it will be so nice just for this to not even be a talking point or like to go and watch a movie where that's just accepted."
Waititi, referencing the countries who have chosen not to show it, said: "There's even [news] about one or two countries who you know are still [not going to show it].
"It's 2022 and they still, you know, they've got reactions to just to that idea of a same-sex couple then look, it's too bad.
"They don't get to watch the film and it's a great film."
Via a statement, the UAE said: "The Media Regulatory Office announced that the animated film Lightyear, which is scheduled for release on 16th June, is not licensed for public screening in all cinemas in the UAE, due to its violation of the country’s media content standards.
"The office confirms that all films screened in cinemas across the country are subject to follow-up and evaluation before the date of screening to the public, to ensure the safety of the circulated content according to the appropriate age classification."
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Anish Vij