Disney Refused To Cut Gay Scenes In New Lightyear Film

Disney refused to cut gay scenes in its new Pixar film, Lightyear. 

The Toy Story spin-off, which provides the backstory of Buzz Lightyear, features a kiss between two female characters during the story - prompting a ban of the film in up to 14 countries. 

One of the countries where the movie is now prohibited to be streamed is Malaysia, whose Film Censorship Board agreed to approve Lightyear with a parental guidance label for viewers under 13, if Disney modified certain parts of the film.

Scenes which were “found to contain elements promoting the LGBT lifestyle which violate key aspects of the Guidelines on the Film Censorship” were told to “be cut and muted”, the country’s film board allegedly said in a statement.

Disney Pixar handout.

However, Disney distributors reportedly opted to cancel the screening of the film, after they wouldn’t cut any of the LGBTQ+ scenes which went against the board’s guidelines. However, the scenes which supposedly violated censorship guidelines were not specified in the board’s statement.

Tyla has contacted a representative of Disney Pixar and the Malaysian Film Censorship Board for a comment.

The film includes a female-presenting character, Alisha Hawthorne, who is voiced by Uzo Aduba, kissing her female partner during one scene in Lightyear.

The inclusion of such a kiss is reported to have prompted 13 other countries to ban the Disney-Pixar movie, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Indonesia, Kuwait and Egypt, as well as Malaysia. 

Disney Pixar handout.

Chris Evans, who voices Buzz Lightyear in the new movie, previously spoke about the criticism over the same-sex kiss, telling Reuters: “The real truth is, those people are idiots. Every time there’s been social advancement, as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good.”

In March, Pixar had restored the LGBTQ+ kiss in Lightyear, after staff wrote an open letter criticising Disney’s response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill in the state.

Alamy.

The legislation aimed to restrict schools in Florida from teaching or speaking about sexual orientation and gender issues with their students, with those teachers failing to comply opening up the possibility of lawsuits.

The open letter by Pixar staff and LGBTQ allies was released on 9 March and criticised Disney for its same-sex representation in its movies “shaved down to crumbs”.

Staff also called out to Disney to “immediately withdraw all financial support from the legislators behind the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill".