Wicked won’t be coming to the big screen in Kuwait, Variety reports, following recent American film bans in the Middle East country, including Greta Gerwig’s Barbie last year. According to the outlet, the Wizard of Oz spin-off film was banned without explicit explanation, but the local media speculates the move was made because of the film’s LGBTQ cast members. 2022 horror movie Talk To Me was also banned in the country, for its inclusion of a minor character who was played by a trans actor. As the Kuwaiti committee on cinematic censorship banned Barbie for its depiction of gender roles, the speculation has basis. Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda, came out as queer in 2021. Grande and Erivo have both joked about the film’s implicit queer themes, with Grande telling The Gay Times that “Every day in the Emerald City is a Pride parade” and that her character “might be a little in the closet.” According to Variety, Kuwait is the strictest of the Gulf States when it comes to media bans, surpassing Saudi Arabia.
