‘West Side Story’ Banned In Middle East Countries Due To LGBT Character

Screening of the “West Side Story” remake was banned in at least six Middle Eastern countries due to the inclusion of a gay character that goes against the nations' cultural views.

The epic love story of Maria and Tony will not hit theatres in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait following strict censorship mandates on sexuality and the use of foul language.

In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of “West Side Story” failed to receive a release certificate while Disney refused to comply with cuts requested by censors from Qatar and Oman, Variety reported.

The storyline of “West Side Story” is not considered profane, it includes a teenage character named Anybody which is written to be transgender and is played by a nonbinary actor, Iris Menas. Films with LGBTQ references are largely targeted by censors from the Middle East and even in China, the Variety report pointed out.

Even Disney’s “Eternals” was pulled from release in the Middle East region due to its inclusion of a same-sex couple. The movie includes a kissing scene between the character of gay superhero Phastos (played by Brian Tyree Henry) and his mortal husband, Ben (played by Haaz Sleiman).

“West Side Story” had a successful albeit somber world premiere on Nov. 29, just a few days after the death of Broadway’s beloved composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim.

“His amazing work for ‘West Side Story’ [in 1957] first put him on the map, and launched a career that would completely redraw that map, reinvent the musical and theater and create a body of work that beyond any doubt is as immortal as anything made by a mortal can be,” director Steven Spielberg was quoted by New York Post in his tribute to the legendary composer.

The film is set to be released Friday in U.S. theaters - 60 years after the original movie was first seen on the big screen in 1961.

The new adaptation of the 1957 Broadway shows stars Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort as star-crossed lovers whose romance fuels the rivalry between two opposing street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks.

The cast also includes Ariana DeBose as Anita, Mike Faist as Riff, David Alvarez as Bernardo and Rita Moreno as Valentina. Moreno received an Academy Award for her portrayal of Anita in the 1961 film adaptation of the musical.