Lightyear: Alisha Hawthorne and Kiko Same Gender Kiss Controversy Leads To Movie Being Banned in Multiple Countries

Disney Pixar movie ‘Lightyear’ has been banned in 14 different countries because of the kissing scene between Hawthorne and her partner Kiko.

The Toy Story spin-off Lightyear is an animated science fiction movie produced by Pixar and distributed by Disney. Chris Evans replaced Tim Allen who originally voiced Buzz in Toy Story.

The film depicts the story of astronaut Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story who gets stranded on a hostile planet along with his fellow members. It stars Keke Palmer, Pete Sohn, James Brolin, Uzo Aduba, Taika Waititi, Dales Soules, and others as the crew members along with Evans who set out on the adventure to find their way back home.

Lightyear was premiered on June 8 at the El Capitan Theatre and was released on June 17 in the US. Although the movie stirred conflict over some scenes, it has positive reviews and collected $5.2 million on Thursday night itself.

Lightyear: Alisha Hawthorne and Kiko Same Gender Kiss Controversy

Lightyear has sparked controversy because it features a kissing scene between two women. The movie has faced backlash over a scene where space ranger Alisha Hawthorne who is voiced by Aduba is seen kissing the officer and her partner Kiko. The duo is in a relationship and on their anniversary, they are seen sharing a kiss.

The kissing scene initially created a controversy in the United States and the Disney Pixar company. The scene was removed first from the film in March 2022 but was restored after a group of LGBTQ+ Pixar employees and their allies passed a statement to Walt Disney Company Leadership. According to Variety, it claimed that “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection…” is cut off from every Pixar movie.

The letter further acclaimed the failure of Disney to defend LGBTQ+ communities. Following the internal conflict in Disney, CEO Bob Chapek decided to condemn Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’ that prohibits the instructions on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten to grade three.

Hence the scene was not censored and Disney thought it would create awareness and acceptance of the LGBTQ+. Chris Evans when asked about the scene by Variety said, ” It’s nice and wonderful, it makes me happy.”

Why Is It Banned In So Many Countries?

Although it might not be an issue in Western countries, it is still a big issue for some Asian and Middle East countries. In the Islam-majority countries, the relationship between same-gender partners is still illegal and the LGBTQ+ references are a sensitive matter.

People are demanding a ban on the scene as the Toy Story franchise is family-friendly and mostly targeted at children. To openly feature the actions involving homosexuality might leave a wrong impression on the kids.

The media regulatory office in the United Arab Emirates announced a ban on Lightyear from public screening that was supposed to be released on June 16. The Muslim-dominated country Indonesia suggested Disney a check on their audience and the Film Censorship Board told that the kissing scene violates the country’s media content rules.

Malaysia and The People’s Republic of China have demanded a cut on the kissing scene and only then it would be released in the cinemas. The movie was released in Singapore under the NC16 age rating stating that children under the age of 16 are not allowed to watch it.

Similarly, the film has been restricted to release in other 11 Islamic countries including Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, and Iraq because of the raging anti-LGBTQ critics.

But the owners have decided to retain the scene in all the versions despite the international controversy it has created.