And they won.
In a move that seems designed to suggest that Sacha Baron Cohen wasn't being 100% satirical about Kazakhstan, a group of students and teachers filed suit over the Pushkin-Kurmangazy gay kiss poster citing 'moral damages'. The financial penalties for offending the delicate sensibilities of the Kurmangazy national conservatory students and teachers make the original fines levied by the local government look like pocket change: $188,000.
CEO Dariya Khamitzhanova says that the fine for this poster – which offends loosely defined "moral values" and was designed for an advertising competition – will ruin the company. She lambasted the students and teachers, saying that they did nothing to earn the money and that none of them even appeared in court. The ad agency appealed the decision, but were denied.
