The Elton John biopic, Rocketman, continues to be punished for daring to show its lead musician’s true sexuality. Earlier this month it was reported that the Russian distributor of Rocketman had severely censored the movie’s depiction of John’s homosexuality and his drug use. Now news has come out that Samoa, a small island nation near the coast of Australia, has decided to outright ban the entire movie from its singular theater.
According to Dark Horizons, the Samoan’s censorship office’s reason for banning Rocketman was specifically because it contained depictions of homosexuality. Their justification for banning Rocketman comes from the Film Control Act of 1978, which forces Samoa to ban movies with that show explicit use of drugs and sex scenes. It should also be mentioned that Samoa also banned the movie Milk, which was also a biopic about gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk. Samoa did allow the Freddy Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody to be shown, but only after several scenes had been removed from it.
Samoa’s decision to ban Rocketman has been heavily criticized by human rights activists, especially since Samoa is known for being very accepting of transgender persons. Many Samoans are also critical of the ban too, which isn’t a surprise since Elton John’s music is popular in Samoa
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