Arts & Entertainment
Showdown over an ‘R’ rating
New documentary on bullying leads lesbian teen on a mission
A promotional still from the film ‘Bully.’ (Photo courtesy the Weinstein Co.)
Katy Butler, 17, launched a Change.org petition to change the rating for the upcoming documentary “Bully” and was in D.C. last week to bring attention to her cause.
“When I saw this new movie was coming out, I thought it was so awesome, because it was about bullying and had such a great message, and then I saw that it was rated ‘R’ … it’s missing the entire target audience of the film, which is the middle and high school students,” Butler says about why she started the petition.
Filmed over the 2009-10 school year, “Bully,” directed by Lee Hirsch, follows three students who have been bullied, including one who brought a gun to school and is now in juvenile detention awaiting the outcome of her case, and two sets of parents whose sons committed suicide after being bullied.
The film’s website, thebullyproject.com, states that more than 13 million American kids will be bullied this year and three million students are absent each month because they do not feel safe in school. A disproportionate number of them are LGBT.
According to filmratings.com, a website the Motion Picture Association of America links to, “Bully” received an ‘R’ rating for “some language.” The word “fuck” is used multiple times in the film.
According to the MPAA’s classification and rating rules effective, Jan. 1, 2010, “a motion picture’s single use of one of the harsher sexually derived words … initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context.”
One of the complaints about the rating is the difficulty pre-teens and most teenagers will have in seeing the film. While an R rating does not keep them from seeing the movie altogether, it does restrict when they can see it, since they will need a parent with them.
It is also more difficult to get schools to show R-rated films, as it requires permission slips to be signed in many school districts.
“The R rating is not a judgment on the value of any movie. The rating simply conveys to parents that a film has elements strong enough to require careful consideration before allowing their children to view it,” Joan Graves, chairman of the classification and rating administration, said in a statement released after receiving the petition.
Butler, who came out as a lesbian in middle school, has been the victim of bullying herself.
“My school didn’t really like that, they called me names … pushed me into lockers and into walls, they ended up slamming my hand into my locker and breaking my finger,” Butler says.
Some have asked why the filmmakers don’t just remove the scenes with the expletives, or censor just the word, since many say if the word was used more sparingly, the film would have received a PG-13 rating, but Butler doesn’t think that would help matters.
“They can’t take out the word, it won’t have the same message. It won’t have the same effect on the kids, parents and teachers who see this movie,” Butler says. “Those are the words that kids used everyday in school to bully each other … no one goes into schools and takes out those words.”
The MPAA also hosted a screening with D.C.-area principals and educators on March 15. The screening was followed by a panel discussion on the challenges educators face in dealing with bullying and how to best ensure that students feel safe when they are in school.
MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd (a former U.S. senator), “Bully” distributor Harvey Weinstein, “Bully” director Lee Hirsch, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Joseph Wright, senior vice president and head of the Child Health Advocacy Institute at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, were on the panel.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Butler’s petition had garnered about 439,000 signatures.
Graves’s statement said that the MPAA shares Butler’s goal of highlighting the problems with bullying.
“Katy Butler’s efforts in bringing the issue of bullying to the forefront of a national discussion in the context of this new film are commendable and we welcome the feedback about this movie’s rating,” Graves said in the statement. “We hope that her efforts will fuel more discussion among educators, parents and children.”
Butler has met with the head of the ratings board, when she hand delivered the signed petitions.
Katy Butler was in Washington last week to encourage the MPAA to reconsider its R rating for the new documentary ‘Bully.’ (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Butler’s efforts to change the rating have been noticed by many, including Ellen DeGeneres, who had Butler on her talk show and has asked her viewers to follow her lead and sign the petition.
“Ellen is wonderful, she is one of my roles models,” Butler says of the comedian. “I definitely couldn’t be doing what I’m doing right now without her.”
DeGeneres is not the only celebrity to push for the MPAA to change the rating. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has Tweeted for his followers to sign the petition. A bipartisan group of 26 members of Congress has thrown its support behind the petition.
Younger celebrities, such as Justin Beiber and Demi Lovato, have also been pushing for people to sign the petition, Tweeting about it to their many followers.
“I think [Bieber and Lovato] especially are hitting the preteen, middle school age group because those are their fans,” Butler says. “If your role model is supporting something as important as bullying, then a lot of the time, these kids are going to look at it too.”
Butler will receive a special award, presented by Harvey Weinstein, whose production company is releasing the film, at GLAAD’s 23rd annual Media Awards in New York City on Saturday.
“The MPAA made a mistake in restricting this film to adult audiences. Everyone — young and old alike — needs to see this film and the devastating impact that bullying can have on today’s young people,” says GLAAD spokesperson Herndon Graddick. “Katy has bravely used her voice to take a stand and has inspired countless Americans, including so many members of Congress and public figures, to show their support for the safety of all our children.”
All the advocacy toward changing “Bully’s” rating is just the beginning for this high school junior. Butler plans on studying political activism once she finishes high school. She would like to attend the University of Michigan or a school in the D.C., New York or Chicago areas.
“Bully” opens in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on March 30 and D.C. and other cities on April 13.
History
Julius’ Bar ‘sip-in’ laid groundwork for Stonewall
Tuesday marked 60 years since four gay activists held protest
While Stonewall is widely considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S., a lesser-known protest inside a Greenwich Village bar three years earlier helped lay critical groundwork for what would follow.
Tuesday marked 60 years since the Julius’ Bar “sip in.”
On April 21, 1966, four gay rights activists — Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons, and later Randy Wicker — walked into Julius’ Bar and staged what would become known as a “sip-in” to challenge state liquor regulations on serving alcoholic beverages to gay men — with a drink.
Modeled after the sit-ins that challenged racial segregation across the American South, the protest was designed to confront discriminatory practices targeting LGBTQ patrons in public spaces.
At the time, the Mattachine Society — one of the country’s earliest gay rights groups — was actively pushing back against policies enforced by the New York State Liquor Authority. One of those policies could have resulted in the loss of liquor licenses for serving known or suspected gay men and lesbians. The participants had visited multiple establishments, openly identified themselves as homosexual, and requested a drink — with the anticipation of being denied.
Their final stop was Julius’, where reporters and a photographer had gathered to document the moment. When Leitsch declared their identity, the bartender covered their glasses and refused service, reportedly saying, “I think it’s against the law.” The next day, the New York Times ran a story with the headline, “3 Deviates Invite Exclusion by Bars,” cementing the moment in the public record.
Though initially framed with disrespect — the term “sip-in” itself was coined as a play on civil rights protests — the action marked a turning point. It brought national attention to the systemic discrimination LGBTQ people faced and helped catalyze changes in how liquor laws were enforced. In the years that followed, the protest contributed to the emergence of licensed, more openly gay-friendly bars, which became central social and organizing spaces for LGBTQ communities.
The Washington Blade originally covered when the bar was officially added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Today, historians and advocates increasingly recognize the “sip-in” as a key pre-Stonewall milestone. According to the New York City LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, the protest not only increased visibility of the early LGBTQ rights movement but also exposed widespread surveillance and entrapment tactics used against the community.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the event, commemorations have taken place in New York and across the country. Reflecting on its enduring legacy, Amanda Davis, executive director of the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, spoke about the event.
“Julius’ Bar is a place you can visit and viscerally connect with history,” said Davis. “We’re thrilled to have solidarity locations across the country join us in commemorating the ‘sip-in’’s 60th anniversary and the queer community’s First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.”
For current stewards of the historic bar, the responsibility of preserving that legacy remains front of mind.
“It’s a privilege and a responsibility to be the steward of a place so important to American and LGBTQ history,” said current owner of Julius’ Bar, Helen Buford. “The events of the 1966 Sip-In here at Julius’ resonated across the country and inspired countless others to stand proud for their rights.”
The timing couldn’t have come at a more important moment, Kymn Goldstein, executive director of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, explained.
“At a time when our community faces renewed challenges, coming together in resilience and solidarity reminds us of the power in our collective resistance,” Goldstein said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization dedicated to defending rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution, is currently tracking 519 anti-LGBTQ bills across the U.S. The majority are targeted at restricting transgender rights — particularly related to gender-affirming care, sports participation, and the use of public bathrooms.
Some additional groups and bars that held their own “sip-in” as solidarity events to uplift this historic milestone are from across the country include:
Alice Austen House at Steiny’s Pub, Staten Island, N.Y.
Bellows Falls Pride Committee at PK’s Irish Pub, Bellows Falls, Vt.
Brick Road Coffee, Mesa, Ariz.
Brick Road Coffee, Tempe, Ariz.
Dick Leitsch’s Family at Old Louisville Brewery, Louisville, Ky.
The Faerie Playhouse & LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana at Le Cabaret, New Orleans
Harlem Pride & John Reddick at L’Artista Italian Kitchen & Bar, New York
JOYR!DE KiKi at Loafers Cocktail Bar, New York
Matthew Lawrence & Jason Tranchida / Headmaster at Deadbeats Bar, Providence, R.I.
Mazer Lesbian Archives at Alana’s Coffee, Los Angeles
New Hope Celebrates at The Club Room, New Hope, Pa.
Queer Memory Project at the University of Evansville Multicultural Student Commons / Ridgway University Center, Evansville, Ind.
Sandy Jack’s Bar, Brooklyn, N.Y.
St. Louis LGBT History Project at Just John Club, St. Louis
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch was held at Salamander Washington DC on Sunday, April 19. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) was presented with the Allyship Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The umbrella LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C. held its annual Night of Champions Gala at the Georgetown Marriott on Saturday, April 18. Team D.C. presented scholarships to local student athletes and presented awards to Adam Peck, Manuel Montelongo (a.k.a. Mari Con Carne), Dr. Sara Varghai, Dan Martin and the Centaur Motorcycle Club. Sean Bartel was posthumously honored with the Most Valuable Person Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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