Sir Elton John and the filmmakers behind biopic Rocketman have slammed Russia for censoring a screening of the film, which tells the story of John's struggle with addiction and rise to international fame.
At a recent screening in Russia, five minutes of the film were removed - including its only gay sex scene and moments featuring illicit drugs.
"That the local distributor has edited out certain scenes, denying the audience the opportunity to see the film as it was intended is a sad reflection of the divided world we still live in and how it can still be so cruelly unaccepting of the love between two people," a joint statement from John and the production team said.
According to the , Russian film distributor Olga Lyubimova from Central Partnership insisted distributors were not pressured to edit the film.
"You know perfectly well that numerous Western and Russian films are related to the problem of drug use," she said. "It would be wrong to say that we are engaging in any form of censorship."
However, film critic Anton Dolin took to social media to complain about the censorship, writing that "a fundamental five minutes" were removed from the film, which compromised the biopic's "artistic design".
The most personal omission from the Russian version of the film, Dolin said, was a final caption celebrating Sir Elton John's relationship with his husband, David Furnish, which was removed.
"The nastiest part is that the final caption has been removed from the finale."
“This homophobic censorship of a film about Elton John is as ridiculous as it is insulting for LGBTIQ+ people and anyone in the country who stands for dignity and non-discrimination," said Natalia Zviagina, Director of Amnesty International’s Representative Office in Russia.
"It is a sad irony that Sir Elton John himself promised back in 2015 that he would try to positively influence Vladimir Putin’s gay rights attitude."
