An Oklahoma theatre faces backlash after posting a warning over the same-sex kiss scene in ‘Lightyear.’
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89er Theatre caused public outrage after claiming they would fast forward through the kissing scene in a warning for moviegoers. The sign reads: ‘Attention parents: The management of this theatre discovered after booking Lightyear that there is a same-sex kissing scene within the first 30 minutes of the Pixar movie.’ The theatre apologized for the ‘inconvenience,’ but residents were stunned by the warning.
Patricia Kasbek posted the sign on her social media pages and called 89er Theatre to have it removed, but it went straight to voicemail. ‘I told them that it was completely insulting to censor a same-gender kiss when they’ve never done this to an opposite-gender kiss,’ she explained to NBC News.
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Kasbek also noted that she’s never been to a movie theatre where a warning was issued about same-sex romances and called it ‘cruel’ and ‘bigoted,’ as reported by Metro UK. However, Management removed the sign the following Monday after it was put up last weekend.
Deputy Director of Oklahomans for Equality Alex Wade said in a statement that the sign wouldn’t be posted if there was a kissing scene between a heterosexual couple.
‘I am not shocked to see something like this happening in my state, but it does break my heart that young LGBTQ+ Oklahomans are made to feel like something is wrong with them. If this were a heterosexual couple, the theater would never even think of skipping it, because heterosexual couples are given the grace to be intimate without being shamed,’
The film faced some controversy during its release due to the kiss between Uzo Aduba’s character Hawthorne and her wife leading Disney officials to have the scene removed amid Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. However, it was restored after backlash from Pixar staff. Buzz Lightyear’s actor Chris Evans also expressed his support for the LBGTQ community after the film was wholly banned from multiple countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates for the same-sex kissing scene.
‘The real truth is those people are idiots.Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good.’
Evans also told Variety: ‘It’s tough to not be a little frustrated that it even has to be a topic of discussion. That it is this kind of “news. The goal is that we can get to a point where it is the norm and that this doesn’t have to be some uncharted waters, that eventually this is just the way it is. That representation across the board is how we make films. Look, it’s an honour to be a part of something that is taking those steps, but the goal is to look back on this time and just be shocked that it took us this long to get there.’