Dispute over nipple: Almodóvar poster censored

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Director Almodóvar: Clear artistic context

Photo: Regina Wagner / imago images / Future Image

Instagram apologized for removing the official poster for Pedro Almodóvar's new film "Madre Paralelas" because it showed a female nipple.

The film will open the Venice Festival on September 11th, and it is already starting in Spanish cinemas.

Instagram removed several pictures of the poster on Monday.

"They broke our rules against nudity," said parent company Facebook.

Only a nipple with a drop of breast milk can be seen on the poster.

Now the company rowed back and apologized to Almodóvar and poster designer Javier Jaén.

“We make exceptions to allow nudity under certain circumstances, even if there is a clear artistic context.

We have therefore restored posts that the Almodóvar movie poster shared on Instagram and we are really sorry, ”the company wrote.

Instagram's naked rules have long polarized users of the network.

Many artists and celebrities use the hashtag #freethenipple to raise awareness.

Because the ban only applies to female nipples, male nipples remain uncensored.

Exceptions apply to health issues and art.

The designer of the Almodóvar poster, Javier Jaén, said he had suspected that the representation on Instagram and Facebook could be seen as problematic.

But Almodóvar supported him personally.

"He told me that he'd been making films with posters all his life, long before Instagram, and he'd do the same after Instagram," Jaén said.

“This is probably the first picture I saw when I was born.

A company like Instagram tells me that my work is dangerous, that people shouldn't see it, that it's pornographic.

How many people do you tell that their body is bad, that their body is dangerous? ”Says Jaén.

He received a lot of support, many people have reposted his poster on Instagram.

»Madre Paralelas« is about two women giving birth at the same time.

"An intense and touching portrait of two women who each face a pregnancy with unpredictable consequences, about female solidarity and about sexuality that is lived out in absolute freedom and without hypocrisy," Almodóvar describes his film.

cpa / AP