Margot Robbie’s Barbie banned as as another Aussie star fights censorship

Margot Robbie’s stunning performance as Barbie might have made the film a billion-dollar hit but it won’t be seen in one country while another Aussie’s movie is also outlawed.

The global hit film Barbie, starring Aussie Margot Robbie, has been banned in Kuwait over concerns about “public ethics”, officials have announced.

It comes as a separate ban on a horror movie featuring a transgender actor was also enforced.

Barbie, which has made Robbie Hollywood’s most in demand star, and Talk to Me both “promulgate ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order”, Lafy Al-Subei’e, head of Kuwait’s cinema censorship committee, told the official KUNA news agency.

Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has made more than $1.5 billion at the global box office. Picture: Warner Bros

While deciding on any foreign movie, the committee usually orders “censoring of the scenes that run counter to public ethics”, Subei’e was quoted as saying.

“But (if) a film carries alien concepts, message or unacceptable behaviour, the committee decides to bar the stuff in question as a whole,” he said.

Gulf Arab states including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — all of which outlaw homosexuality — routinely censor films that contain LGBTQIA+ references.

Australian actress Margot Robbie is the toast of Hollywood. Picture: AFP

Most recently, they banned the latest Spider-Man animation in June, reportedly over a scene that includes a transgender pride flag.

However, Barbie, which has taken more than A$1.5 billion worldwide, is being shown in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.

In Lebanon, Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada said he had asked authorities to ban Barbie for “promoting homosexuality”, though the film does not contain any overt references to same-sex relationships or queer themes.

Australian actor Zoe Terakes’ film has also been banned. Picture: Supplied

Talk to Me, which is shown in Emirati and Saudi theatres, features Australian transgender actor Zoe Terakes but no explicit LGBTQIA+ references.

“Our film doesn’t have queer themes,” Terakes said in a statement posted on social media on Sunday, after the ban was first reported.

“I am a trans actor who happened to get the role. I’m not a theme. I’m a person,” added Terakes who also identifies as non-binary.

Originally published as Margot Robbie’s Barbie banned as as another Aussie star fights censorship