Kuwait bans ‘Barbie’ film over ‘public ethics’ concerns

Kuwait has barred hit film “Barbie” from cinemas over concerns about “public ethics,” officials have said, also confirming a separate ban on a horror movie featuring a transgender actor.

“Barbie” 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.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

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 late on Wednesday.

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

“Barbie,” which has taken more than $1 billion worldwide, is being shown in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.

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

With AFP

Read more:

‘Barbie’ shatters box office records with $1 billion in ticket sales

Lebanon minister moves to ban ‘Barbie’ film for ‘contradicting values of morality’

‘Barbie’ movie to screen in UAE theaters on August 10, bookings open