Power Rangers gets 18+ age rating in Russia...due to gay character?

The PG-13 “Power Rangers” film is based on a ‘90s American superhero television series for children, which in turn was derived from a Japanese series also for children.

But in Russia, “Power Rangers” is getting an 18+ age rating. That’s right: in Russia, “Power Rangers” is for adults.

According to a Hollywood Reporter article, Russia’s “Power Rangers” distributor WDSSPR advised theaters that the film’s age restriction had been raised from 16+ to 18+. While the distributor did not explain its decision for the move, the 18+ rating only came about after Russian legislators condemned the film over its LGBTQ content.

Last week, politician Vitaly Milonov, the same person who called “Beauty and the Beast” a “blatant, shameless propaganda of sin and perverted sexual relationships,” criticized “Power Rangers” for its gay character.

“If fascist ideology is banned in our country, then [movies by] the likes of [“Power Rangers” director] Dean Israelite should be banned first thing,” Milonov stated on Tsargrad, a conservative Russian television network.

However, the Hollywood Reporter adds that the nearly three dozen viewers who were admitted into a Moscow theater to watch a “Power Rangers” screening did not see the point of the controversy.

“She is cool, and I don't care whether she is gay or not,” 18-year-old college student Anastasia said, referring to the movie’s lesbian character, Trini.

'Gay propaganda'

Milonov became an important player in the instigation of the “gay propaganda” ban, which in 2013 was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. Thanks to this law, Russian theaters are prohibited from showing films featuring “gay propaganda.” For having a gay character in the form of LeFou, “Beauty and the Beast” almost met the same fate, but was instead given a 16+ age restriction.

Speaking about “Beauty and the Beast,” Milonov told Govorit Moskva, a Russian radio station: "Only adults are capable of deciding whether they are interested in looking at some perverts."

“The aim of this movie is to inoculate our children with new European standards of tolerance, so they would consider it to be normal,” he added. “But, thank God, the ministry took a civil, stately stand on the issue.” — BM, GMA News