In 2019, The Walt Disney Company dove head-first into the streaming game with the launch of Disney+. Disney+ featured a massive library of classic Disney movies and television shows, in addition to some original series.
At its launch, many of the Disney+ originals soared in popularity, including The Mandalorian, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and The Imagineering Story.
Since then, Disney has created numerous films and television shows that viewers have come to love. Shows like WandaVision, Loki, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Santa Clauses, and Goosebumps seem to become more popular year after year.
Related: Disney Releases Trailer For ‘Goosebumps’ Season 2!
When Disney+ launched in November 2019, it was only available in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands. One week later, it became available in Australia, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico.
Now, Disney+ is available in more than 60 countries, including Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
About four months after its US launch, Disney+ became available in Italy — and many countries get their own original programming. Take Germany, for example. Disney+ Germany made headlines for an original series that told the story of a teenage girl, Pauline, who falls in love with the devil and becomes pregnant with his child.
Related: Christians Launch Petition to Stop Satanic Disney+ Show ‘Pauline’
For months, Disney+ Italy has been working on a show about the fictional murder of a 15-year-old girl by her family in a small Italian town and the media frenzy that followed. The show is called Avetrana – This Is Not Hollywood. It was supposed to premiere on October 25.
However, that premiere was canceled when the mayor of Avetrana filed a lawsuit against Disney. Avetrana Mayor Antonio Iazzi filed a petition with a court in Taranto, claiming that the show would paint the town in a bad light.
The judge sided with the mayor, and Disney was forced to postpone. Disney said it would fight the ruling,, and a court date was set for November 5.
Well, it looks like Disney realized one of two things — it would not win its appeal, or it didn’t want to potentially hurt the residents of Avetrana, who had done nothing wrong.
On Tuesday, October 29, Disney announced that it would change the name of its now from Avetrana – This Is Not Hollywood to simply This Is Not Hollywood.
According to a report from Reuters:
TV crime series whose release was suspended last week by an Italian court will change its name to overcome judicial obstacles, the global entertainment giant said on Tuesday.
“Avetrana – This is not Hollywood”, a fictionalised account of the 2010 murder of a 15-year-old girl by her family members and of the media frenzy that surrounded the case, will instead be called “This is not Hollywood”, a statement said.
Film and TV industry representatives criticised the court decision to halt the series, with the head of the Italian producers’ association APA Chiara Sbarigia calling it “a serious violation of the principle of freedom of expression”.
Now that the case has been settled, This Is Not Hollywood will be available to stream on Disney+ in Italy beginning October 30.
Do you agree with Disney’s decision to alter the name of the show? Or is it an infringement on First Amendment rights? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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