Malaysia Made International Headlines Over "Hustlers" Ban

Last week, we found out that stripper movie “Hustlers” had been banned in Malaysia at the 11th hour.

The reason being? LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) found that the “excessive obscene content” was too vulgar for local audiences. Square Box Pictures even released a statement, which you can read below:

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OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT We regret to inform you that Hustlers movie release has been cancelled as it has been banned in Malaysia. We deeply apologize for the inconveniences caused to our beloved followers, fans of the movie, medias and partners. A special shout-out to @presenceparis @reebokmalaysia @benefitmalaysia @flyproject.co @thenictionary @acutabovegroup @restylemy @tgvpictures and other medias involved. We certainly appreciate all the love and support from our fans and movie lovers for this title; yet it’s our loss that we are unable to carry on. Our sincere apologies that we have let you down. Nevertheless, we hope to bring you more exciting movies in the near future with your continuous support. Thank you ??
A post shared by Square Box Pictures (@squareboxpicturesmy) on Sep 19, 2019 at 8:36am PDT
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While “Hustlers” is rated-R, many felt that scenes featuring “sexualised nudity, strong sex references, language (and) drug misuse” could have censored instead. The Elton John biopic “Rocketman” is one example.

Following the news, other international publications from America, UK, Japan, Thailand, India and more started covering it. As far as we know, Malaysia is the only country that ended up banning “Hustlers” after it was scheduled to hit theatres.

Isn’t it ironic that Malaysia has appeared on popular sites such as Billboard, BBC, People, and Cinema Blend for the wrong reason?

BBC News – Jennifer Lopez stripper film Hustlers banned in Malaysia https://t.co/Bg1vN0YHFl
— Salim Kikeke (@Salym) September 20, 2019

Jennifer Lopez's Hustlers Is Banned from Playing in Malaysia Due to 'Obscene Content': Report https://t.co/XcfwJLFkws
— People (@people) September 20, 2019

The #JenniferLopez-starring #HustlersMovie has been banned in Malaysia https://t.co/EXxOySWtVg
— billboard (@billboard) September 24, 2019

Malaysia bans Jennifer Lopez movie 'Hustlers' https://t.co/HCI37TNuHo pic.twitter.com/ey5YWDlqMI
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 21, 2019

#Hustlers has been banned in Malaysia due to its nudity and sexual content. https://t.co/q6zLPcCple
— Yahoo Movies UK (@YahooMoviesUK) September 22, 2019

Malaysia has banned the movie “Hustlers”, a Jennifer Lopez film based on the real life exploits of a band of strippers who fleeced clients after having drugged them. https://t.co/sY4NBzEVxy
— Reuters Asia (@ReutersAsia) September 21, 2019

https://t.co/95ZLub9Vcd (LV.8) Malaysia bans Jennifer Lopez movie 'Hustlers' – Japan Today https://t.co/RL0Wal4kwa
— 【英単語リスト】ニュース記事で英語学習【イディオム】 (@eztango) September 22, 2019