'Pride' U.S. DVD Cover Removes Gay References

Jonathan Handel, The Hollywood Reporter

January 6, 2015 at 8:41 a.m.

One of the noted LGBT films of 2014 has ducked into the closet — or at least, its U.S. Blu-ray/DVD packaging has. Pride, based on the true story of a group of U.K. gay and lesbian activists who stand in solidarity with a bitter 1984 coal miners strike, appears to have been “straight-washed,” with the packaging scrubbed of LGBT references that are present on the U.K. packaging.

According to Pink News, the U.K. packaging references the “London-based group of gay and lesbian activists” who donate to the miners’ cause, then adopts a Welsh village hard hit by the strike. But on the U.S. box, they’re simply “London-based activists.”

Someone has been hard at work Photoshopping as well: A sign reading “Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners” is present on the U.K. box but has been digitally erased for the U.S. release.

The artwork from the U.K. release can be seen below, and the doctored artwork from the U.S. release is below that, as posted by LGBT Weekly.

Ironically, those changes invert the plot of the film: Initially, the Welsh miners are more comfortable with the LGBT community’s monetary support than with its open sexual identity, but the miners ultimately become comfortable with their new supporters. Several characters come out during the course of the movie.

The film won several prizes at the British Independent Film Awards last month: the best British independent film award, along with best supporting actor and actress prizes for its stars Andrew Scott and Imelda Staunton, respectively.

Representatives for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, which released the disc in the U.S., and CBS Films, which acquired U.S. rights, did not respond to requests for comment. [Update: CBS Films told Pink News, “We’re looking into this now” and pointed to the studio’s official site for the movie which features the original synopsis and image.]

Watch the trailer below:

Photo credit: AP Photo/CBS Films, Nicola Dove

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