All intimate same-sex scenes have been removed from the Russian release of Rocketman, a new biographical film based on the life of British rock star Elton John.
Dozhd TV journalist Mikhail Kozyrev and cinema critic Anton Dolin, who presented the film at the Oktyabr movie theater in Moscow on May 30, said that scenes with drugs, gay sex, and men kissing had been removed from the release being presented across Russia by the Central Partnership film distribution and production company.
Critic Yegor Moskvitin, who saw the original movie in Cannes earlier this month, confirmed that gay scenes and a statement in the titles about Elton John's "true love" had been cut from the Russian release.
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In March, the Daily Mail reported that Paramount Pictures had compelled the film's director to cut a 40-second gay-sex scene in order to secure a PG-13 rating for the film.
Last month, another Hollywood movie -- Avengers: Endgame -- was slightly changed in Russia. The Russian translators altered the dialogue to conceal that one of the characters was gay.
In 2013, Russia adopted a controversial law banning the dissemination of "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" to minors.
The law has sparked criticism by domestic and international rights defenders.