MRC pulls Kanye West doc: ‘We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform’ – news and facts
The movie was pulled from a planned screening in London for health and safety reasons.
The MRC, which stands for Merseyside, West Midlands and Cheshire councils, has already had a number of its films pulled from scheduled screenings, including a documentary on knife crime.
The MRC explained on Twitter that the reason for pulling the film was “because of reports of violence on screen.”
West spoke about the incident on Twitter, saying: “Not great news [for] the local authority, the film industry, and film makers…
“They’re just trying to silence us, to shut down what we do and say.
“There is no place for homophobia or misogyny in society. The power of these industries to silence good people and damage the industry is enormous.
“To censor and silence us is to silence a lot of people that wouldn’t have a voice to begin with.
“It’s a problem with the media. They’ve got to accept we’re coming at them from the side.
“It shouldn’t be that difficult to accept we have a different perspective. It’s good to know there are other people you can look up to and learn from.”
The film was originally set to air on Channel 4 on the Friday evening but was moved to Monday due to concerns about violence on screen, according to the film’s producer Mark Burdon.
He told The Independent: “The film was on the show before but Channel 4 felt, given the issues surrounding the screening as well as the film itself, that it should not go ahead.
“We are considering every avenue at our disposal to get it aired on Channel 4.”
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: “The decision not to show the film is disappointing given the positive reaction to it.
“It was a difficult call and one made without any reference to the concerns raised by the makers and the film’s producer.
“The film has since been passed onto its distributors who will be submitting it to commercial TV channels ahead of a broadcast on Channel 4 later this year.”
Channel 4 is currently screening a documentary about knife crime, The Knife of Mercy.
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