Film ‘may lead’ to children with cleft lips being bullied

An association for people with cleft lips and palates has expressed fears that a Disney film in which the villain has a cleft lip could lead to children with the birth defect being bullied or mocked.

The Cleft Lip and Palate Association of Ireland says the character in The Lone Ranger has a facial scar that is recognisable as resulting from cleft lip. It said Disney describes the villain as “a ruthless outlaw whose terribly scarred face is a perfect reflection of the bottomless pit that passes for his soul”.

Furthermore, it says Lego has brought out a range of toys to accompany the film and the character’s figurine has the cleft lip.

“The issue is not that a movie character has a cleft lip or that Lego have duplicated the cleft,” said Georgina Wade, the chair of voluntary group.

“The issue is the deliberate negative association of a cleft. The ideology and wording are extremely offensive to people living with cleft and their family and friends. There is no doubt that this is what the movie sets out to do. William Fichtner, the actor who plays the villain, says when asked about acting under the make up: ‘You know, I have the prosthetic broken nose, the whole cleft lip…’”

Ms Wade said associating a cleft lip with evil may lead to bullying, mocking and an expectation that children with a cleft should be the bad guys in games. “These children are already vulnerable due to their facial condition. They encounter enough medical and psychological challenges in everyday life without this.”

Cleft is one of the common congenital facial conditions worldwide. In Ireland, there are 100 to 120 babies born with a cleft annually. “Therefore this affects a sizeable number of people in Ireland.”

The group wants to pre-warn teenagers and adults about the film’s content so they may choose to avoid it.