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FILM FURY

Pixar’s new animated movie Onward axed in Middle East over gay references

PIXAR’S new animation Onward has been banned by four Middle Eastern countries because of a reference to lesbian parents.

The family adventure film will now not be shown in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

  Russia has censored the scene in question by changing the word 'girlfriend' to 'partner'
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 Russia has censored the scene in question by changing the word 'girlfriend' to 'partner'Credit: Alamy
 US star Lena Waithe, is the voice for Disney-Pixar's first openly gay character Specter
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US star Lena Waithe, is the voice for Disney-Pixar's first openly gay character SpecterCredit: The Mega Agency

One of the film’s supporting characters — police officer Specter — was heralded as Disney-Pixar’s first openly gay character.

Her lines include: “It’s not easy being a parent . . . my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, OK?”

Other Middle East countries are showing the film, including Bahrain, Lebanon and Egypt. Russia has censored the scene in question by changing the word “girlfriend” to “partner”.

It is also avoiding mentioning the gender of Specter, who is voiced by US star Lena Waithe, 35.

The actress, who is gay, told entertainment industry mag Variety that the line about “my girlfriend” was her idea — as she thought it fitted better than a reference to Specter’s husband.

She added: “I said, ‘Can I say the word girlfriend, is that cool?’ I was just like, ‘It sounds weird. I even have a gay voice, I think. I don’t think I sound right saying husband’.

“They were like, ‘Oh yeah, do that’. They were so cool and chilled. And it ended up being something special.”

The film is about two teenage elf brothers who go on an adventure.

Last year, Russia censored scenes in the Sir Elton John biopic Rocketman and Avengers: Endgame as a result of LGBT references.

And in 2017, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was banned in Kuwait and Malaysia because of a reference about a gay character.

Official trailer for Pixar's Onward directed by Dan Scanlon


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