Metro

Filmmakers sue MTA over pulling Muslim movie poster

The MTA unfairly pulled an ad campaign for a movie about Muslim culture because the transit agency confused the humor in the posters for pā˜‚olšŸŒŸitical statements banned under a new policy, the filmmakers charge in two new lawsuits.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is accused of Ā­reneging on a $15,000 deal to plaster movie posters on walls in 140 subway stationšŸ²s.

The film ā€œThe Muslims are Coming!ā€ by Negin Farsad and Dean ObeidallašŸ’›h is billed as a lighthearted look at the šŸ¤”culture of the religion.

The ads used what the studio calls ā€œsatirical and tongź¦ue-in-cheekā€ statements such as ā€œThe Ugly Truth About Muslims: Muslims have great frittata recipesā€ and ā€œThose Terrorists are All Nutjobs,ā€ with the word ā€œnutjobsā€ substituted for the crossed-off ā€œMuslimā€ because it was ā€œmore accurate.ā€

Accā™‘ording to the studio, the film carries a message that ā€œAmeršŸ’Æican Muslims are ordinary people,ā€ and that the MTA had no compelling reason to ban it.

When the posters didnā€™t go up on the scheduled date in April, the filmmakers called the MTA but didnā€™t hear back for several days, and then were told the ads would violate a new policy that bans ads that are ā€œpolitical in nšŸŒature.šŸŸā€

Posters that were banned by the MTA,.AP

The filmmakers countered that there is nothing political about funny movie posters. One of the ads says, ā€œMuslims! They invented coffee, the šŸŒ¼toothbrush and algebra .ā€‰.ā€‰. Oh wait, sorry about the algebra. Thatā€™s a year of class youā€™ll never get back.ā€

Another said: ā€œšŸ§øBeware! The Muslims are coming! And they shall strike with hugs so fierce that youā€™ll end up calling your grandmother and telling her you love her!ā€

ā€œWe tried to reason with the MTA,ā€ the filmmakers wrote in aną²Œ article in The Daily Beast. ā€œWe tried appealing to their sense of fairness. We even tried groveling. But to no avail. MTA lawyers made it clear that our ads, ads intended to show that Muslimā™Œs are ordinary people with a sense of humor (and a sense of hummus), had no place in their New York City subway system.ā€

The studio also saidą±  the MTA had approved the ads in March, but withdrew that approvš’ˆ”al last month in light of its April 29 ad ban.

MTA spokesman Adam šŸ¦‹Lisberg said the agency had not been served with the complaint, and he declined to comment further.

ā€œOur lawsuit will travel through the legal systemšŸ­ slower than the G train,ā€ the filmmakers wrote. ā€œBut at least itā€™s moving.ā€