Parallel Mothers: Instagram apologises after taking down lactating nipple poster

Penelope Cruz stars as an expectant mother in the new film

Instagram has issued an apology for removing Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers movie poster, which features a lactating nipple, from its platform.

The social media site had taken down the image on the grounds that it broke its “rules against nudity”. However, the decision has now been reversed and the posters restored.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Instagram said: “We do, however, make exceptions to allow nudity in certain circumstances, which includes when there’s clear artistic context.

“We’ve therefore restored posts sharing the Almodóvar movie poster to Instagram, and we’re really sorry for any confusion caused.”

The poster’s designer Javier Jaén told AP that he and Almodóvar had been aware that the imagery might violate social media rules but had decided to stick with it. “[Almodóvar] told me that he had made films with posters his whole life, long before Instagram, and he would keep doing so after Instagram, too,” Jaén said.

Parallel Mothers will open the Venice Film Festival on 1 September. Shot during the pandemic, the film explores the relationship between two expectant mothers who meet in a hospital room prior to giving birth.

It stars Penelope Cruz, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Julieta Serrano, and Rossy de Palma.

Almodóvar has a long history with the oldest film festival in the world and in 2019 was awarded its Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Speaking about his film opening the festival, he said: “I cannot explain the joy and the honour, and how much this means to me without falling into complacency. I am very grateful to the festival for this recognition and hope to be up to it.”