Home ›› 28 Apr 2022 ›› Show Biz
Saudi Arabia has asked Disney to cut ‘LGBTQ references’ from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness before it can be screened in the kingdom, an official said on Monday – but denied earlier reports that the film has been banned, reports the Guardian.
Disney has so far declined the requested edits to the Doctor Strange sequel, slated for release around the world next week. The cuts amount to “barely 12 seconds” in which a lesbian character, America Chavez, played by the actor Xochitl Gomez, refers to her “two moms”, according to Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabia’s general supervisor of cinema classification.
“It’s just her talking about her moms, because she has two moms,” Alsabhan said. “And being in the Middle East, it’s very tough to pass something like this.”
He added: “We sent it to the distributor, and the distributor sent it to Disney, and Disney has told us they are not willing.”
“It will never be banned,” he told Agence France-Presse. “There’s no reason to ban the film. It’s a simple edit ... So far they have refused. But we haven’t closed the door. We’re still trying.”
On Friday the Hollywood Reporter said there were unconfirmed reports that the film had also been banned in Kuwait. Advance tickets had been removed from sale in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, but not in the United Arab Emirates.
Asked on Monday about the film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch, an employee for AMC Cinemas in Saudi Arabia said it had been ‘withdrawn’.
