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College Campus Pulls Screening Of Zoolander 2 Over LGBT Mockery

A college campus in the US has pulled a screening of ‘Zoolander 2’ from a forthcoming film festival over what it reckons are inappropriate jokes at the expense of the LGBT community.

Claremont McKenna College in California will instead show 'Deadpool’ in its place.

Among the jokes deemed offensive is that featuring Benedict Cumberbatch’s androgynous character called All, who is asked whether they have ‘a hot dog or a bun’.

“After screening 'Zoolander 2’, we observed that the film did not portray the LGBTQ community in a positive light and made a series of inappropriate jokes at the expense of individuals of marginalized identities,” the programming board said in a statement.

“The College Programming Board strives to put on events which support an inclusive community on campus. We did not believe that screening ‘Zoolander 2’ reflected our values, nor did it help us promote the campus climate we hope to create.”

Some have questioned the choice of replacing 'Zoolander 2’ with the ultra-violent 'Deadpool’, but the board went on to say:

“Though ‘Deadpool’ is a R-rated movie it does not target marginalized identities the way Zoolander did.

“Our choice to cancel the film was a calculated choice that we felt would support and respect our community on campus.”

The movie came in for some flack back when it was released in November last year, with an online petition launched calling for a boycott.

“Cumberbatch’s character is clearly portrayed as an over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals,” read the accompanying text.

“This is the modern equivalent of using blackface to represent a minority.

“If the producers and screenwriters of Zoolander wanted to provide social commentary on the presence of trans/androgyne individuals in the fashion industry, they could have approached models like Andreja Pejic to be in the film.

“Tell Paramount Pictures, Ben Stiller, and Benedict Cumberbatch that mocking transgender/androgyne/gender fluid individuals is not okay - sign this petition to pledge to boycott the film!”

It received over 25,000 signatures.

Image credits: Universal