'Bully', Hard Hitting Documentary, To Open Without A Rating

It's been announced that 'Bully,' the documentary that seeks to highlight the current problem in U.S. schools of bullying and abuse, will be released without a rating, after the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) refused to budge on its decision to give it an 'R' rating.'

The film was initially going to be released with an 'R' following the inclusion of bad language in the final edit. However the film's makers argued that it was necessary, citing the need to portray the bullying in as real terms as possible. "The small amount of language in the film that's responsible for the 'R' rating is there because it's real," the movie's director Lee Hirsch said in a statement, reports People. "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."

The supporters they mentioned was in reference to the 500,000 plus who'd signed a petition in support of the film having the rating removed, including actor JONNNY DEPP and Ellen Degeneres. One such supporter was Katy Butler, a high school student who suffered broken fingers at the hands of bullies. "The brief use of explicit language in this film reflects what so many kids hear each day in school when they're being bullied," she said in a statement. "The MPAA said they wouldn't drop the 'R' rating unless this language was removed, but nothing can remove it from the halls and playgrounds of schools where bullied students hear it each day, except education and exposure."