Marvel’s most recent installment, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has been banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar.

The reason according to The Hollywood Reporter, is that the film has a gay character named America Chavez, who also features in the comics.

Since homosexuality is illegal in the Islamic countries in the Middle East, the film didn’t get the approval of the censorship boards.

Previously films such as Eternals and West Side Story were banned in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait, too.

Marvel’s Eternals had a gay character with a major role. The film also depicted two male characters sharing a kiss and a gay couple adopting a child.  In West Side Story, the character named Anybodys was written as transgender in the new adaptation, and played by nonbinary actor Iris Menas.

In China, streaming platforms censored the running lesbian plotline in the TV series "Friends" All mentions of the homosexuality of one of the series' main characters, Ross’s wife, was expunged. Also in China, the film Bohemian Rhapsody about the life of British rock star Freddie Mercury was released with two minutes of LGBTQ content removed.

So how did the dogmatically pro-LGBTQ Hollywood, particularly Disney, which owns Marvel, react to these bans?

They chose a path of silence and placed business interests above LGBTQ rights.

It is not just movie bans in these countries. LGBTQ behavior itself is punishable by lashes, and prolonged prison sentences in Muslim countries such as Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Syria, Brunei, and Egypt. China's record on LGBT rights also is repressive.

Hollywood relentlessly talks about its compassion for minority groups. Prominent denizens donated to Black Lives Matter and even bailed out BLM rioters to show their commitment.

Human rights groups believe China has detained more than one million Uyghur Muslims over the past few years in a large network of state "re-education camps," and sentenced hundreds of thousands to prison terms. 

Countries such as Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Jordan, Tunisia, and other Islamic countries in the Middle East and North Africa have consistently banned films starring actress Gal Gadot because she is Jewish and Israeli.

Hollywood once again hasn't uttered a syllable against these blatant acts of religious discrimination and human rights violations. The business continues as normal.

After Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, Hollywood studios such as Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal, Sony Pictures, and Paramount stopped releasing new films in Russia.

But when Florida passed a law that prevents classroom indoctrination on “sexual orientation or gender identity” for very young children, Disney went ballistic.

The bill was mischaracterized as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill. The noise created almost gave the impression that LGBTQ behavior was outlawed in Florida.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek was attacked for not speaking up and employees staged a walkout in protest.

In reaction, Disney vowed to donate $5 million to organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, that work to protect LGBTQ rights. Executives are holding town hall meetings on how to better serve the LGBTQ community in the future.

Pixar employees asked that their parent company, Disney, “take a decisive public stand” against the legislation and reinstated a same-sex kiss in the upcoming Pixar film “Lightyear” that was previously removed.

Disney proclaimed that they “are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ”

Alas, no such proclamations for LGBTQ people in Muslim nations and China where there is real danger and discrimination.

The truth is that Hollywood’s sole aim is reaping profits. 

They attack President Trump or Republicans in Florida because they know there is no real threat to either themselves or LGBTQ people. Neither Trump nor the GOP are going to ban their movies or hurt them financially. In fact, their relentless virtue-signaling may give them some easy publicity which means higher ticket sales.

The reason Hollywood claims to care for LGBTQ rights is that the LGBTQ advocacy organizations have over a period of time become pressure groups. These organizations follow the ‘donate generously or else you are a bigot” business model. These are similar to criminals or to corrupt officials who collect protection money

Most in Hollywood post a rainbow flag on social media and donate generously to these groups just to appease the monster and appear to be 'the good ones.' An identical business model has been used by BLM. The result is both BLM and LGBTQ groups are wealthy and powerful, the equivalent of rich corporate houses, except that they are earning profits without selling products. 

Even for the Florida situation, a part of the compromise was Disney pledging to pay $5 million to LGBTQ organizations. Money is, was, and always will be the core aim behind these manufactured ruckuses. These groups know they can rely on cowardly or compromised business leaders to capitulate and donate with ease.

Like most businesses, LGBTQ organizations know where their customer base exists, i.e., who can be pressured to donate their millions. When it comes to Islamic countries and China, they know they do not stand a chance. So they stay mum and they don't pressure Hollywood to act. 

For Hollywood, China and various Islamic nations mean hundreds of billions of dollars in profit to corporate enterprises, so human rights concerns are placed in the back seat. 

We should never ever take the empty utterances from Hollywood seriously. They should from now be known as Hollowood. 

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License