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Hustlers: Jennifer Lopez stripper film banned in Malaysia for ‘obscene content’

New movie follows group of strip club employees who steal money from rich Wall Street workers

Ellie Harrison
Friday 20 September 2019 11:00 EDT
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Hustlers - Trailer

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Hustlers has been banned in Malaysia for its “excessive obscene content”.

Starring Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu, the movie follows a group of strip club employees who steal money from rich Wall Street workers by charging their credit cards while they’re under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Malaysia’s film censorship board, however, decided that the naked breasts, erotic dances and scenes featuring drugs in the film are “not suitable for public screening”.

Square Box Pictures, the company distributing Hustlers in Malaysia, confirmed the ban on Instagram, writing: “We certainly appreciate all the love and support from our fans and movie lovers for this title; yet it’s our loss that we are unable to carry on. Our sincere apologies that we have let you down.”

Julia Stiles, Lizzo and Cardi B also star in the movie, which is based on a true story revealed in a New York Magazine article that went viral in 2015.

In the UK, Hustlers has a 15 certificate due to its “sexualised nudity, strong sex references, language and drug misuse”.

It has received acclaim from critics and consumers in the UK, but was recently criticised by the woman whose story inspired the film.

This is not the first time a movie has encountered difficulties around its Malaysian release. Earlier this year, gay sex scenes in the Elton John biopic Rocketman were censored in the country.

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