The MPAA has been doing this and worse for many years now. Some that come to mind:
The very warm and friendly family movie “Harry and Tonto”, starring Art Carney and a pet cat, got an ‘R’ rating because of one use of the ‘F’ word, that they refused to change. That year, Harry and Tonto won the Oscar, beating out Al Pacino in The Godfather, Part 2; Jack Nicholson in Chinatown; Dustin Hoffman in Lenny; and Albert Finney in Murder on the Orient Express.
The almost brilliant “Angel Heart”, which got an ‘X’ rating not because of the erotic and violent lovemaking between Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet, but because it was part of a montage that had rainwater leaking through a ceiling and dripping into pans on the floor. They got an ‘R’ by cutting several scenes of dripping water, which made the scene “too intense”. Dripping water.
“Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer”, got a deserved ‘X’ rating, but not because of its horrifying and graphic content. It got it because it portrayed the serial killer as an ordinary, even boring individual. No ham acting, no bizarre eccentricities, no great emotional content. He looked like somebody who repairs cars for minimum wage, an everyman.
One of the best Mickey Rourke movies I've seen. "Barfly" was great too.
FMCDH(BITS)
“That year, Harry and Tonto won the Oscar, beating out Al Pacino in The Godfather, Part 2; Jack Nicholson in Chinatown; Dustin Hoffman in Lenny; and Albert Finney in Murder on the Orient Express.”
It had nothing to do with those hack actors that nobody ever heard of. It was the cat. Non-union, no SAG card.