“It’s a simple edit…so far they have refused. “There’s no reason to ban the film,” he said. Though he disputed a Hollywood Reporter piece published Friday that claimed the Sam Raimi–directed sequel had been outright banned from release, Alsabhan’s denial seems to hinge on Disney slashing the scene in question. Officials are quibbling over “barely 12 seconds” of content in which a lesbian character, America Chavez ( Xochitl Gomez), acknowledges her “two moms.” Alsabhan told the outlet that since homosexuality is illegal in the region, “it’s very tough to pass” a scene like this through the censors. “We sent it to the distributor, and the distributor sent it to Disney, and Disney has told us they are not willing ,” said Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabia’s general supervisor of cinema classification, as reported by The Guardian. The company’s apparent refusal to do so has led to reports that Doctor Strange has been banned from release in the country as well as in Kuwait and Qatar. Theaters in Saudi Arabia have reportedly asked Disney to censor “ LGBTQ references” in the Benedict Cumberbatch–led superhero film. Twelve seconds are what stand between Saudi Arabian audiences and the upcoming Marvel epic, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
