West Side Story banned in parts of Middle East over trans character – report

Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-tipped remake will not be showing in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar or the UAE

Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story will not be showing in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar or the UAE.

Related: West Side Story review – Spielberg’s triumphantly hyperreal remake

The big-budget musical, tipped for Oscars, has reportedly been banned because of a transgender character Anybodys, played by Iris Menas, known for Jagged Little Pill. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film wasn’t granted a certificate in either Saudi Arabia or Kuwait and in the remaining countries, requests for cuts were made that Disney refused to make.

Anybodys, whose gender identity was vague in the original, has been made more obviously trans in the new version. While it’s never said on screen, the character receives more screen-time and David Saint, executor of West Side Story author Arthur Laurents’ estate, has confirmed that Anybodys “is a character who was a man born in a female’s body. End of story.”

According to Glaad’s most recent annual report on LGBTQ+ representation on screen, there were zero trans or non-binary characters in studio films for the fourth year in a row. Homosexuality and being trans are still either illegal or seen as immoral across much of the Gulf region with capital punishment used in extreme circumstances.

The news comes soon after Disney initially refused to cut a same-sex kiss from Marvel adventure Eternals which was then briefly banned in various Gulf countries as a result. But the studio then agreed to make edits which led to some countries allowing for the release.

West Side Story has received almost universally positive reviews and is being tipped for multiple Oscar nominations. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called it “a vividly dreamed, cunningly modified and visually staggering revival”.

Disney has yet to make a comment.