A still from the Barbie movie. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
An outdoor screening of Greta Gerwig’s hit movie Barbie has been cancelled in a Paris suburb over threats from opponents who believe the blockbuster “advocates homosexuality”.
The free-to-enter screening in the Parisian suburb of Noisy-le-Sec of the comedy movie, which stars Margot Robbie in the titular role and Ryan Gosling as Ken, was cancelled just before the scheduled launch last Friday (8 August), as per local outlet Le Parisien.
While Barbie features several prominent LGBTQ+ actors, including Hari Nef and Kate McKinnon, there is not much in the way of LGBTQ+ storylines. The film follows Barbie’s journey to the real world while she grapples with her purpose in life.
Mayor Olivier Sarrabeyrouse announced the cancellation publicly on Monday (11 August), alleging that “an extreme minority of thugs, who, no doubt, had not seen the film, transformed a simple free open-air cinema screening open to all into a violent opposition movement”.
Opponents of the screening claimed that the film “is an attack on the integrity of women”. (Warner Bros.)
The mayor claimed that around 10 to 15 people “surrounded the offices” and threatened to “take everything down and put an end to your session” over differences between their religious views, and the supposed views of the film.
Sarrabeyrouse continued: “They said that it advocates homosexuality and that it is an attack on the integrity of women.
“Barbie is a film for all audiences, which has never been banned in France.” The film was banned in several other countries following its 2023 release, including Kuwait, Vietnam, and Algeria.
“I deplore the fact that a small group from the neighbourhood mobilised its energy under pressure from an individual to prevent the screening of this film.”
The town hall is now organising to “reschedule this film” within a reasonable amount of time, Sarrabeyrouse also added.
‘Words will not extinguish this flame of racist hatred’
The decision to cancel the event garnered backlash from critics, including MP Valérie Boyer and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, the latter of whom said, “the slightest retreat in the face of these community demands is unacceptable”.
Boyer, however, claimed that the situation saw “Islamic religious fundamentalists exercising strong and effective social control”.
“Algeria, Lebanon, Kuwait, and today Noisy-le-Sec in [France] censor #Barbie… the [mayor] submits to pressures from an ‘aggressive group’!,” she alleged via X on Wednesday (13 August).
However, during a Thursday (14 August) press conference, Sarrabeyrouse rejected the “totally disproportionate” response to the screening cancellation.
Mayor Olivier Sarrabeyrouse denounced the “racist and especially Islamophobic” messages from onlookers. (MARTIN LELIEVRE/AFP via Getty Images)
Although he described the opponents as exerting “obscurantism and fundamentalism” and their “totally fallacious” views on the film promoting same-sex relationships and its views on women, Sarrabeyrouse denounced “with even greater firmness the political exploitation, speculation and racist Islamophobic hatred that has been pouring out over the past 24 hours from the right and the far right”.
“The city’s social media and my own are flooded with insulting, racist and especially Islamophobic messages. The words of today’s Minister of the Interior will not extinguish this flame of racist hatred, unleashed without any limits, of which I am the target as much as my population,” he said, as per the French iteration of HuffPost.
A judicial source also told AFP that an investigation “for threats, violence or acts of intimidation against a public service officer to force him to carry out or refrain from carrying out his duties and has been entrusted to the Noisy-le-Sec police station” was opened on Thursday following a complaint filed by Sarrabeyrouse.
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez further announced on X that he would take legal action against “community withdrawal and separatism”, which is “contrary to the foundations of our Republic” and would “likely be subject to criminal prosecution”.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
How did this story make you feel?
🔥
Fired up
❤️
Love
😊
Happy
😐
Meh
😡
Annoyed
😢
Sad
Sending reaction…
Thanks for your feedback!