China Censors ‘Friends’ On Streaming Platforms Due To Lesbian Storyline
etcanada.comChina’s streaming services have deliberately censored multiple “Friends” episodes due to LGBTQ characters and storylines. According to the Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post, “the censors have practically buried the lesbian identity of character Carol Willick” (Anita Barone), Ross’ (David Schwimmer) ex-wife. READ MORE: Rami Malek Oscars Speech Censored In China Over Homosexuality References Conversations about Carol divorcing Ross, after coming out as a lesbian, were removed from the show’s first episode, as well as scenes in the second episode which also featured the character.
Additionally, censors have reportedly withdrawn a scene of Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) kissing on New Year’s Eve and even altered the show’s dialogue in Chinese-language subtitles, like editing a line about women having “multiple orgasms” to “women have endless gossips.” READ MORE: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Release In China Censored To Remove Gay Content The first season of “Friends” debuted on Chinese streaming platforms on Friday.
The censored version of the sitcom influenced fans to protest changes on the social media site Weibo, which pushed #FriendsCensored to the top of the site’s trending topics.
By Saturday morning, the hashtag was also censored on the platform, CNN reported. An uncensored version of the show was previously accessible from 2012 to 2013 on Chinese streaming platforms Sohu video and iQiyi. READ MORE: Chloé Zhao Working With Marvel To Avoid Censoring Gay ‘Eternals’ Characters In Overseas Markets “Seriously, if you can’t broadcast [the complete version], just don’t do it at all,” one comment on Weibo read. “[The streaming platforms] spent big bucks to buy the rights [to the
