1. Zoolander Iran
As one of the worlds most overtly religious societies run by hardline spiritual leaders, its no surprise that Iran has a strict anti-gay and homosexuality stance as befitting their fundamentalist worldview. Many pro-gay films have bitten the dust in Tehran, and will continue to do so. Yet occasionally, even when a film doesnt actually feature homosexual content, they still might attract the Ayatollahs ire. One such example is Zoolander. Now, if you look at it, Zoolander isnt actually what one might consider a gay film. Derek Zoolander himself is a straight male who ends up with his female love interest come the end, theres one of the most bizarre heterosexual sex scenes ever committed to celluloid and the plot is concerned with thwarting an evil conglomerate of fashion designers who want to kill the Malaysian Prime Minister (coincidentally, the film is banned in Malaysia but for far more understandable reasons). Yet its
how they chose to film it that really annoyed Tehran. The Iranians would probably argue that theres no smoke without fire and choosing to have four effeminate and scantily dressed men have a petrol fight crosses their lines. Even if they were waivering with their hard-line stance, I think having omnisexual hero David Bowie present a strutting contest which culminates in two men tearing off their underwear would certainly put this film over the edge. Honestly then, unlike most films on this list I can understand why they did it, even if I dont agree with it. But still, that doesnt make it both ridiculous and hilarious that the Iranian authorities were given a headache by a man who cant turn left. Know of any other films banned for ridiculous reasons? Comment below!