TORONTO – An online petition rallying against MPAA’s decision to give the documentary Bully an R-rating is getting strong social media reaction.
Katy Butler, a 17-year-old Michigan high school student, launched the campaign “MPAA: Don’t let the bullies win! Give ‘Bully’ a PG-13 instead of an R rating!” on the website change.org in hopes of getting the current rating downgraded to “PG-13.”
Bully, originally titled The Bully Project, follows five families over the course of the year and addresses the harsh reality of bullying. The film examines high school students across the United States and takes a look at the lives of victims who have committed suicide.
On Monday, the hashtag #BullyMovie was trending worldwide on Twitter.
Due to its explicit language and footage of bullying, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has given the documentary an “R” rating-which means children under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a parent or an adult guardian.
“Because it’s rated R, the kids that are being bullied – and the bullies also – can’t see this movie,” Butler tells TheWrap.com. “Kids hear worse at school. … Kids know the language and they’re being called these things and these words are being used in a derogatory way.”
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Last week, ex-Disney star and singer Demi Lovato reached out to her fans for support via Twitter.
To date, the petition has over 204,000 signatures.
An appeal filed in February to repeal the rating by the distributors of the film, The Weinstein Company, has been denied.
Bully is set to open in select theatres in the United States on March 30, 2012. The movie recently received a PG-rating in Canada.
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VIDEO: Bully – Official trailer
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