Amnesty International condemns Russia's 'ridiculous' LGBT censorship of Rocketman

Taron Egerton as Elton John and Richard Madden as John Reid in Rocketman. Photo / Supplied

Amnesty International has condemned Russia's censorship of the gay sex scenes in Elton John biopic Rocketman, calling it "ridiculous" and "insulting".

The film is scheduled to open in Russia on June 6, but the first prescreening took place in Moscow on Thursday where, according to film critics, all scenes depicting kisses or sexual encounters between men were deleted.

The closing credits depicting Elton John and his husband David Furnish were also deleted.

In response, Amnesty International released a statement saying the censorship was "yet another example of the 'gay propaganda law' undercutting freedom of expression and encouraging homophobia in Russia".

Under Russia's "gay propaganda law" passed in 2013, any public display of homosexuality is effectively prohibited in order to protect minors against the "harm" that "non-traditional sexual relations" can cause.

However Amnesty International argues that because of the film's R18 rating, no minor would be able to see it and therefore there was no risk of them being "exposed" to "gay propaganda".

Natalia Zviagina, Director of Amnesty International's Representative Office in Russia said: "This homophobic censorship of a film about Elton John is as ridiculous as it is insulting for LGBTI people and anyone in the country who stands for dignity and non-discrimination.

"By censoring any expression of affection between two human beings of the same sex, this mutilated version of the film insults and dehumanises same-sex relationships. The distributors should take immediate steps to restore all deleted scenes of the movie."

Zviagina also added: "It is a sad irony that Sir Elton John himself promised back in 2015 that he would try to positively influence Vladimir Putin's gay rights attitude."