The documentary film Bully will be released in theaters without a rating, leaving the decision to show the film to young people to individual movie theaters.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) originally gave the film an R rating due to six expletives heard in the documentary, which is being distributed by The Weinstein Company.

Bully looks at the lives of several 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 small amount of language in the film that's responsible for the R rating is there because it's real,” Bully director Lee Hirsch said in a statement. “It's what the children who are victims of bullying face on most days. All of our supporters see that, and we're grateful for the support we've received across the board. I know the kids will come, so it's up to the theaters to let them in.”

After the MPAA rejected an appeal by The Weinstein Company, Michigan teen Katy Butler launched an online petition asking the MPAA to lower the film's rating to PG-13 so that younger students can watch the film. More than 485,000 people signed onto the petition, including Ellen DeGeneres and 26 members of Congress.

The 17-year-old Butler has said she became the victim of bullying after she identified as a lesbian.

The film opens March 30. (A trailer for the film is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit our video library for more videos.)