Elton John and Taron Egerton have spoken out against a Russian film company's decision to cut sex scenes from Rocketman. Russian journalists reported last week that about five minutes had been cut from the biopic, removing any ‘scenes with kissing, sex and oral sex between men'. A photo displayed during the end credits featuring Sir Elton and his husband David Furnish has also been removed.
Writing on Twitter, Sir Elton condemned the decision as a ‘sad reflection of the divided world we still live in’. He said, 'We reject in the strongest possible terms the decision to pander to local laws and censor Rocketman for the Russian market, a move we were unaware of until today.
'Paramount Pictures have been brave and bold partners in allowing us to create a film which is a true representation of Elton’s extraordinary life, warts and all. 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.'
Egerton, who has been praised for playing Elton in the film, wrote on Instagram, ‘I am crestfallen that the decision was made to censor our movie for the Russian market. I, in no way, condone this decision and feel disappointed I wasn’t made aware and given the chance to fight this move. Love is love. No compromises.’
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