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| Photo Credit: AP. |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Gulf Arab countries on Tuesday asked Netflix to remove “offensive content” on the streaming service, apparently targeting programs that show people who are gay and lesbian.
A joint
statement issued on behalf of a committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council made
the request, saying the unspecified programs “contradict Islamic and societal
values and principles.”
Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates each published the statement via their respective
governments as well. They, along with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, make up
the six-nation council.
While the
statement didn’t elaborate, Saudi state television also aired video of an
interview it conducted with a woman identified as a “behavioral consultant” who
described Netflix as being an “official sponsor of homosexuality.” It aired
footage at the same time of a cartoon, “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” in
which two women kissed, though the footage was blurred out.
Saudi state
television also aired a segment suggesting Netflix could be banned in the
kingdom over that programming reaching children.
Netflix,
based in Los Gatos, California, did not respond to requests for comment
Tuesday.
The move
comes after countries in the Muslim world in June banned the public showing of
Disney’s latest animated film “Lightyear” over a brief moment showing two
lesbian characters kissing. After that, the company’s Disney+ streaming service
said its “content available should align with local regulatory requirements” in
Gulf Arab countries.
Many Muslims
consider gays and lesbians to be sinful. In some parts of the Arab world,
members of the LGBTQ community have been arrested and sentenced to prison. Some
countries even maintain the death penalty.
The move
also comes as regional streaming services try to eat into Netflix’s revenue,
including the Shahid service operated by the Saudi-owned MBC Group. The Saudi
government is believed to hold a controlling stake in MBC Group after a series
of arrests in 2017 ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over corruption
allegations that saw him centralize power in the kingdom.
Netflix has
limited content previously in Saudi Arabia.
In 2019,
activists blasted the streaming service for pulling an episode of comedian
Hasan Minhaj’s “Patriot Act” that criticized Prince Mohammed over the killing
and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the
kingdom’s involvement in the war in Yemen.
Netflix at
the time said the episode was removed from the kingdom as a result of a legal
request from authorities and not due to its content.
Follow Jon
Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.