Kuwait: Kuwaiti authorities have banned the Barbie movie, reportedly to protect “public ethics and social traditions.” It comes shortly after a Lebanese Minister asked authorities in his country to bar the movie from cinemas for “promoting homosexuality.”
According to the official KUNA news agency, a spokesman for the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information said late on 9th August 2023, that the film by Warner Brothers, which has topped $1 billion in box office ticket sales worldwide since its debut, “promulgates ideas and beliefs that are alien to Kuwaiti society and public order.”
The Ministry has also banned Talk to Me, an Australian supernatural horror film, for almost similar reasons. The Culture Minister of Lebanon, Mohammad Mortada, asked the Lebanese Interior Ministry on 9th August 2023, to “take all necessary measures to ban showing” Barbie in the country.
“The film promotes homosexuality and transsexuality, supports rejecting a father’s guardianship, undermines and ridicules the role of the mother, and questions the necessity of marriage and having a family”, Mortada stated.
The Interior Minister, Mr. Bassam Mawlawi, has requested the country’s censorship committee review the film and give its recommendation.
An anti-LGBTQ campaign is taking place in Lebanon, led by the powerful Hezbollah armed group. As per the statement, Hezbollah wields significant power in Lebanon, where it operates as both a Shiite political party and a militant group.
The Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, was highly anticipated by LGBTQ communities globally. However, the film doesn’t explicitly include references to same-sex relationships or queer topics. It is the first solo female-directed movie to hit $1 billion.
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