Star Wars’ first same-sex kiss between two women is censored in Singapore where homosexuality is illegal
- The brief same-sex kiss in The Rise of Skywalker was a first for the franchise
- But Singapore’s regulator said the film would have needed a higher age rating
- Some fans criticised the fleeting kiss and accused the filmmakers of tokenism
A kiss between two women in the new Star Wars film was cut from the version released in Singapore.
The brief sign of same-sex romance in The Rise of Skywalker is a first for the franchise, but the moment is omitted in Singaporean cinemas.
Singapore’s regulator told BBC News that the film would have needed a higher age rating if the kiss was included.
Sex between men remains illegal in Singapore under a colonial-era law, although it is rarely enforced, and campaigners say the law is ‘silent’ on sex between women.
The Rise of Skywalker had a brief same-sex kiss cut out from the version which hit screens in Singapore last week. Pictured: Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver appear in a poster
The Disney film, which is the ninth in the Star Wars saga and billed as the finale, was released in the Asian city-state on Thursday.
‘The applicant has omitted a brief scene which under the film classification guidelines would require a higher rating,’ a spokesman for the regulator said.
The film is rated PG13 in Singapore, with an advisory note that the film contains ‘some violence’ but no mention of the omitted kiss.
Under the guidelines, films containing LGBT themes or content as a subplot may be restricted to viewers aged 18 and above.
However, The Rise of Skywalker’s same-sex kiss is a fleeting moment which some fans have criticised as tokenism.
The brief kiss was shared between two peripheral characters and some viewers missed it altogether.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Rise of Skywalker, which is the ninth in the Star Wars saga and billed as the finale. The same-sex kiss is between two more minor characters
One fan said Disney had ‘gestured vaguely at the LGBT community with [a] split-second shot of women kissing.’
‘It’s like in the corner of the screen during a scene and feels like something thrown in to make fans happy,’ another said.
Films which focus on homosexuality may be hit with a 21-and-over age rating.
Although open support for gay rights has grown in recent years, official attitudes towards homosexuality are often highly conservative in Singapore.
Sex between men remains technically illegal in Singapore under a colonial-era law, albeit one that is not actively enforced.
LGBT rights group Stonewall say that the law is ‘silent’ on sexual activity between women. Same-sex marriage is also illegal.
The Rise of Skywalker has a 12A rating in Britain, where censors said it included ‘moderate violence and threat’.
In Beijing, special previews of the long-awaited film this week drew just a handful of fans.