Pop star Elton John is condemning the censorship of some scenes in the new film about his life, 鈥淩ocketman,鈥� by its Russian distributor.
Russian film critic Anton Dolin wrote on Facebook that 鈥渁ll scenes with kissing, sex and oral sex between men have been cut out.鈥�
鈥淭he nastiest part is that the final caption has been removed from the finale,鈥� he added. 鈥淚n the original, it says that Elton John found the love of his life and is raising children with the man he loves.鈥�
Dolin wrote that about five minutes was cut from the film.
The filmmakers released a statement on Friday shared on the John鈥檚 Twitter account, stating that they 鈥渞eject in the strongest possible terms the decision to censor.鈥�
鈥淧aramount Pictures have been brave and bold partners in allowing us to create a film which is a true representation of Elton鈥檚 extraordinary life, warts and all,鈥� the statement goes on.
鈥淭hat the local distributor has found it necessary to edit 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,鈥� the statement continues.
The local film distributor, Central Partnership company, told Russian state news agency TASS that the scenes were cut to "comply with Russian legislation,鈥� according to CNN.
It鈥檚 unclear what legislation the film is alleged to have contravened but some have speculated that including gay sex scenes could have violated the so-called 鈥渁nti-gay propaganda鈥� law.
The 2013 law signed by Russia鈥檚 President Vladimir Putin is entitled 鈥減rotecting children from information promoting the denial of traditional family values,鈥� according to Human Rights Watch.
The law bans the 鈥減romotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors鈥� and applies to information provided via the press, television, radio, and the internet,
