An Israeli PR Company Removed Smurfette From Film Promotion

Smurfette, a key character in the Smurfs franchise, was cut out of a promotional billboard in conservative Israeli community Bnei Brak.

According to the Times of Israel, the city has an ordinance that prevents the publication of images that “might incite the feelings of the city’s residents.” The original poster for Smurfs: The Lost Village shows Smurfette alongside male Smurfs Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty, but in Bnei Brak, only the boys appear. The film’s distributor, Forum Film, told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the PR company Mirka’im – Hutzot Zahav decided to cut Smurfette so the city’s Orthodox population — in which men are not permitted to look upon images of women — would not get offended.

Smurfette is the latest female character to be nixed from billboards in the community. Jennifer Lawrence did not appear on the Hunger Games posters and Tinkerbell was axed from Peter Pan promotions back in the day. (Images of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton were not published during the U.S. presidential election last fall.)

Variety notes that Israeli actress Gal Gadot’s film Wonder Woman will be released this summer, and based on the Smurfs censorship, it’s unlikely Gadot will appear on the film’s promotions in the more religious areas of her home country.

[H/T Variety]