The controversies surrounding Greta Gerwig's Barbie film are not ending any time soon. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Kuwait has become the latest country to impose a ban on the film. It earlier faced a ban from Vietnam. Local reports there assert that the chairman of the film censorship committee Lafi Al-Subaie has accused the film of “carrying ideas that encourage unacceptable behaviour and distort society’s values.”. Barbie Banned in Kuwait: Govt Bans Screening of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s Film to Protect 'Public Ethics and Social Traditions'.

Barbie is also likely to be banned in Lebanon. The culture minister Mohammad Mortada said that Barbie “promotes homosexuality” and “contradicts values of faith and morality,” by diminishing the importance of the family unit, The Hollywood Reporter said. Barbie, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the lead roles, hit the theatres on July 21. It faced a box office clash with Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. Barbie: Lebanon Moves To Ban Margot Robbie’s Film for ‘Promoting Homosexuality and Sexual Transformation’.

Despite mixed reviews, the film emerged as one of the highest-grossing films of 2023 so far. Interestingly, Barbie and director Greta made history the past weekend, flying past over USD 1 billion in worldwide box office gross, becoming the first movie directed solely by a woman to do so.