'Lightyear', animated film with lesbian kiss, banned in UAE

US actress Keke Palmer attends the Out-of-This-World Premiere of Disney and Pixar's "Lightyear" at the El Capitan Theater on June 8, 2022 in Hollywood, California

Disney's animated movie "Lightyear", which contains a lesbian kiss, has been banned from cinemas in the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday without giving details.

The film was banned for its "violation of the country's media content standards", the UAE's Media Regulatory Office tweeted, with a picture of the main character Buzz Lightyear covered by a 'No' symbol -- a red circle with a diagonal stripe through it.

"The Media Regulatory Office announced that the animated film Lightyear, which is scheduled for release on June 16, 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 tweeted.

The "Lightyear" ban comes just six months after the UAE said it would stop censoring cinematic releases and announced a 21-plus age rating for films it classifies for mature audiences.

In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the body that vets films declined to comment about whether "Lightyear" would be shown.

In April, Saudi Arabia requested cuts to "LGBTQ references" in Disney's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", which was ultimately not screened in the country.

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