ABU DHABI// A video made by Emirati filmmakers showing young men curing their friend of homosexuality has been taken down by YouTube.
A link to the video, titled Be Yourself, on the hosting site leads to a message from YouTube, saying it was removed "because its content violated YouTube's Terms of Service".
Created by local production company UAE Aflam, the video attracted criticism from around the globe for its depiction of two young Emiratis giving a friend a "straight" makeover.
A local group called Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transexual Rights UAE applauded the removal of the video, which it called "homophobic".
The video had hundreds of thousands of hits before it was removed from YouTube, sometime earlier this week. The video is still available on the UAE Aflam website.
jthomas@thenational.ae
