LONDEN – The movie trailer “The Pirates” from Aardman Animations has recently been criticized by LEPRA/Health in Action – the British Leprosy Relief Foundation – and NLR. In the trailer of this movie an arm falls off a crewmember of a ‘leper-boat’. In response to this criticism a spokesman of Aardman Animations said: “After reviewing the matter, we decided to change the scene out of respect and sensitivity for those who suffer from leprosy. The last thing anyone intended was to offend anyone and it is clear to us that the right way to proceed is to honor the efforts made by organizations like LEPRA and the World Health Organization to educate the public about this disease.”

The scene shows the arrival of the Pirate Captain on board a captive ship, demanding gold. ”Afraid we don’t have any gold old man, this is a leper-boat”, explains a crewmember. “See”, he adds as his arm falls off. Our British sister organization Lepra/Health In Action said about this scene: “It might make you laugh but leprosy stigma not only hurts, it is still forcing people to live a life on the fringes of society.”

Netherlands Leprosy Relief is strongly opposed to such stigmatising use of the disease for commercial purposes. It reinforces prejudice against and is deeply disturbing for people affected by leprosy.

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