Ann Arbor, Michigan teen Katy Butler is
protesting the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA)
decision to give the documentary film Bully an R rating.
In the documentary, which is being
distributed by The Weinstein Company, viewers meet the victims of
bullies, including 12-year-old Alex from Sioux City, Iowa and
16-year-old Kelby from Tuttle, Oklahoma. Kelby's ordeal began after
she came out gay.
The MPAA said the film's R rating is
due to six expletives heard in the documentary.
Butler, 17, launched a Change.org
petition asking the MPAA to lower the film's rating to PG-13 so that
younger students can watch the film. She delivered more than 200,000
signatures to MPAA officials on Wednesday.
“I think it's an absolutely powerful,
wonderful movie because these are real kids and they're telling their
real stories,” Butler said during an appearance on CNN. “The
language in this movie is part of what makes it so powerful.” (The
video is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Butler said she became the victim of
bullying after she identified as a lesbian.
Bully
opens March 30.