Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s ‘It Ends With Us‘ has been banned in Qatar due to the kissing content and non-graphic intimate scenes. The film falls under the censorship of the country’s strict regulations.
Qatar is known for having rigorous censorship which often leads to the banning of many Hollywood films. In the past, the country has banned several American movies including, ‘Barbie‘, ‘Doctor Strange’ Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse‘ and now ‘It Ends With Us’.
‘It Ends With Us’ Faces Harsh Fate Qatar
‘It Ends With Us’ is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling romantic novel. Directed by and starring Justin Baldoni opposite Blake Lively, the movie features a lot of kissing scenes with one non-graphic sex scene where the characters are in their underwear.
Due to all these scenes, the country’s censorship committee has blocked the PG-13 movie from coming to the theatres of Qatar, according to Variety. The conservative Middle Eastern country has very strict censorship rules when it comes to media and has a history of not allowing many films to reach the theatre halls.
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Qatar Is Strict about Their Media Rules
Qatar has previously blocked the R-rated comedy ‘No Hard Feelings‘ in which Jennifer Lawrence goes nude, ‘Toy Story‘ spinoff ‘Lightyear’ was banned as it features a gay kiss, and Pixar’s ‘Onward‘ for a vague reference to a lesbian character. Moreover, Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Anyone But You’ was also banned there, which features a lot of steamy scenes.
In 2021, Disney refused to follow the censorship cuts made by Qatar for Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’. It’s understood that the censors were made due to characters that were transgender, nonbinary, and LGBTQ+ references. Such films have always been banned in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, The UAE, Oman, Kuwait, and China as well.
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