STANDING UP

Disney Refuses to Cut Lesbian References in New ‘Doctor Strange’ Movie for Saudi Screens

It’s refusing to back down in a censorship battle with the kingdom over its latest installment in the Marvel franchise.

Saudi Arabia is locked in a censorship battle with Disney after it requested the entertainment giant cut 12 seconds of “LGBTQ references” from new movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a request that Disney has declined. In the Doctor Strange sequel, a lesbian character refers to her “two moms,” according to Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabia’s general supervisor of cinema classification. Alsabhan told Agence France-Presse: “In the Middle East, it’s very tough to pass something like this,” adding, “We sent it to the distributor, and the distributor sent it to Disney, and Disney has told us they are not willing.” The Guardian quoted an employee of AMC Cinemas in Saudi Arabia saying that the film had been “withdrawn.” Homosexuality is a capital offense in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this month, Warner Bros agreed with China to cut dialogue from its new Harry Potter movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, that showed that Professor Dumbledore is gay.