Onward Banned in Middle East Nations Over LGBTQ Character

It's only one line, but it was enough to get the Disney/Pixar movie banned in four countries.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

March 09 2020 2:19 PM EST

May 31 2023 6:17 PM EST

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Disney/Pixar's Onward has been banned in four Middle Eastern nations because it features a minor LGBTQ character.

Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia will not show the film in its theaters, BBC reports. The nations object to the fantasy/adventure movie's blink-and-miss-it queer character, voiced by out actress and writer Lena Waithe.

"It's not easy being a parent... my girlfriend's daughter got me pulling my hair out, OK?," Waithe's cyclops cop character says in her one and only scene.

Russia, led by homophobic president Vladimir Putin, also took action against Onward, forcing Waithe's character to say "partner" instead of "girlfriend" and to avoid overt references to the character's gender.

In the U.S., Onwardopened at the number-one spot at the box office, though its $40 million haul was viewed as slightly disappointing for a Pixar film.