Director Dexter Fletcher responded to reports of censoring in 'Rocketman'
After reports broke this week that Elton John biopic Rocketman would censor a gay scene in order to avoid an “R” rating, the movie’s director has stepped in to clarify things.
“Seeing much speculation about ROCKETMAN!! That’s good! It’s still unfinished so it’s nothing but rumors,” Dexter Fletcher tweeted on Friday. “It has and always will be the no holds barred, musical fantasy that Paramount and producers passionately support and believe in. See for yourself May 24. Dx x”
Seeing much speculation about ROCKETMAN!! That’s good! It’s still unfinished so it’s nothing but rumors. It has and always will be the no holds barred, musical fantasy that Paramount and producers passionately support and believe in. See for yourself May 24. Dx x
— Dexter Fletcher (@Dexfletch) March 22, 2019
Some fans responded to Fletcher’s tweet by saying they hoped the movie would be rated “R,” so that it wouldn’t be “straight-washed.” The scene in question involves Taron Egerton, who plays Elton John, and Richard Madden, who’s playing John Reid.
“R rating or No go for me. We were promised a R Rating. We were promised actual gay content,” one person responded to Fletcher’s tweet. “As my daughter said, after reading the news that the film might get straight-washed, ‘Dude. I didn’t get to an R-rated age for them to PG-13 this shit,'” another person tweeted.
R rating or No go for me. We were promised a R Rating. We were promised actual gay content.
— Charles Fernandez (@movie_charles) March 23, 2019
As my daughter said, after reading the news that the film might get straight-washed, "Dude. I didn't get to an R-rated age for them to PG-13 this shit."
— ZforZaraThustra (@ZForZaraThustra) March 23, 2019
Fletcher’s tweet comes after The Daily Mail reported on Thursday that Paramount had “demanded” the movie cut a 40-second scene showing the two characters in bed.
Rocketman hasn’t been rated yet, but The Hollywood Reporter shared on Friday that the movie is likely to earn an “R” rating. And it sounds like that’s a good thing for fans who don’t want to see the movie straight-washed in the way Bohemian Rhapsody was accused of.
We don’t care about the sex. What we care about is how straight obsessed the culture is, that a character and person is not queer until it’s proven in plain sight, as if we are something to be denied until we disappear from existence.
— Snow @Anime Detour Artist Alley (@storytellersnow) March 23, 2019
But why would we want our gay icons to be… (gulp) gay? @ParamountPics will probably let Rocketman be the same kind of embarrassment that Bohemian Rhapsody was, and it won’t make near the amount of money.
— X. Alexander (@Real_____Nobody) March 22, 2019
So it's fine to make a movie about one of the most famous gay men in the world (and take the vast profits that are going to come in from the box office) but it's not fine to show said gay man in an embrace with another man?
— Mark Cousens (@MarkEverclear) March 22, 2019
In addition to the nude scene, THR notes that the movie will likely receive an “R” rating because of the drug use in the movie. The Daily Mail did report that John himself wanted the crew to “go as R-rated as you need to.”
Read more from Yahoo! Entertainment:
Paramount wants to censor Elton John gay scene in ‘Rocketman’
Watch ‘Rocketman’ star Taron Egerton sing ‘Tiny Dancer’ at Elton John’s Oscars party
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle’s newsletter.
