Eternals Star Slams “Ignorant” Countries for Banning Marvel Movie Over LGBTQ+ Content

Eternals actor Haaz Sleiman joins co-star Angelina Jolie in speaking out against "ignorant" territories that have banned the Marvel movie over LGBTQ+ content. The Chloe Zhao directed Marvel Studios movie, scheduled to open November 11 in the Gulf region, was pulled in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar after studio Disney refused to comply with "edit requests" to remove romantic scenes between married couple Ben (Sleiman) and Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry). Now Sleiman, who came out as gay in 2017, is voicing his support for Disney-Marvel's decision to stand by the representation championed by Zhao by not altering Eternals.

"They stood their ground and said, 'Nope, we are not going to compromise the integrity of our film,'" Sleiman told Variety. "It made these Arab countries look so ignorant and pathetic." 

Sleiman, who described himself as "a gay, Muslim, Arab-American man" in a video published to Facebook in 2017, added he has "no respect for those governments." 

"They have displayed to the world that they are not only a disgrace to humanity, but to God," he said. "Hopefully this will inspire the Saudi people, the Kuwaiti people, and the people in Qatar to fight back." 

Jolie, who plays fierce Eternal warrior Thena in her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, said Friday she was "sad for [those audiences]. And I'm proud of Marvel for refusing to cut those scenes out."

"I still don't understand how we live in a world today where there's still [people who] would not see the family Phastos has and the beauty of that relationship and that love," she said during a press round table with news.com.au. "How anybody is angry about it, threatened by it, doesn't approve or appreciate it is ignorant."

Sleiman previously said his role, and having husband Phastos as the first openly gay superhero in the MCU, was "beyond a dream come true, it's lifesaving." 

"I wish I had that when I was a kid, to see this. My god. I wish," Sleiman told Variety in October. "Can you imagine how many lives this is going to be saving — kids, young queer folk, who are being bullied, committing suicide and not seeing themselves being represented? And now they get to see this — it's above and beyond."

Starring Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Don Lee, Barry Keoghan, Kit Harington, and Angelina Jolie, Marvel's Eternals is now playing in theaters.