_x000D_Screenshot: Barbie / Warner Bros. Pictures

Why did Lebanon ban the Barbie Movie?

Lebanon’s Culture Minister, Mohammad Mortada, announced in August 2023 that the Barbie movie would be banned. The reason? The film was perceived to “>promote homosexuality and champion gender fluidity,”> which was seen as contradicting religious values. The radical Shia Muslim armed group, Hezbollah, backed this move. But Lebanon wasn’t alone in its cinematic critique. Kuwait also announced its ban on the film in the same month, citing that the movie promotes “>ideas and beliefs alien to Kuwaiti society.”> Meanwhile, on the global stage, Barbie laughs all the way to the bank. In three weeks since its debut on July 21, 2023, the film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has raked in over $1 billion in box office ticket sales worldwide.