Greta Gerwig’s `Barbie’ has been banned in Kuwait and Lebanon for promoting homosexuality.
A spokesman for the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information said on Wednesday, August 9, that the Barbie movie, “spreads ideas and beliefs that are alien to Kuwaiti society and public order”, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). In Lebanon, Minister of Culture, Mohammad Mortada, demanded that the film be banned, saying that it “contradicts religious values.” After Mortada’s request, interior minister Bassam Mawlawi asked the country’s censorship committee, to review the movie and present its recommendations. The movie is scheduled to be shown in the UAE and Saudi Arabia on Thursday, August 10. Barbie, which stars Margot Robbie in the title role, has hit the 1 billion dollar mark in just 17 days at the box office. The movie follows Robbie’s Barbie and her partner Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, as they embark on an adventure in the real world. Another movie, the supernatural horror film Talk to Me, was also banned in Kuwait earlier this week. Written and directed by Australian twins Danny and Michael Filippou, the movie was universally acclaimed.
