Gay plotline censored in ‘Friends’
#FriendsCensored hashtag had been trending on China’s social media platform Weibo before being removed
The much-anticipated return of ‘Friends’ to Chinese streaming services was marred by an outcry from fans, who noticed that a gay plotline had been censored, as well as some raunchy comments made by the characters of the iconic sitcom.
The American series had last been shown in China almost a decade ago but, after the success of the 2021 special ‘Friends: The Reunion,’ the country’s streaming giants, including Bilibili, Tencent, iQiyi and Youku, decided to run it again.
‘Friends’ became available on the platforms on Friday, but eager viewers’ joy quickly switched to anger after they realized that their favorite show wasn’t exactly the same as they remembered it.
A conversation about Ross’s ex-wife, Carol Willick, who divorces him in the show after realizing that she is a lesbian, had disappeared from the first episode, they claimed.
Later on, a line from another character, Joey, who suggests going to a “strip joint,” was replaced by “go out to play,” while Ross’s fascination about the ability of women to have “multiple orgasms” had been interpreted as women “have endless gossip.”
Reuters said it had confirmed that the version of the show uploaded on Tencent included the changes mentioned by the fans.
“I resolutely boycott the castrated version of ‘Friends’,” one of the users proclaimed on the Weibo website, while another accused the streaming services of “defiling a classic.”
“If you can’t show the complete version under the current atmosphere, then don't import it,” another frustrated commenter posted.
The fact that the original soundtrack and the English-language subtitles remained unchanged was an “insult to our English language ability,” another user added.
“FriendsCensored” became the most trending topic on Weibo on Friday, garnering millions of views. But it also ended up being censored by the website at the weekend and was replaced with another hashtag: “Why is friends so popular,” according to AFP.
‘Friends’ has a huge flowing in China, with numerous people watching the series on DVD when it originally aired in the 1990s, many even learning English thanks to the show.
The Chinese government has tightened controls over media and entertainment in recent years, with the 2016 guidelines warning broadcasters against topics that “exaggerate the dark side of society.” These included homosexuality, extramarital affairs, underage love and smoking, among other things.
In January, Tencent made headlines by changing the ending of David Fincher’s cult-classic movie ‘Fight Club.’ It completely cut the iconic final scene of corporate buildings being blown up, while instead informing the viewers through screen text that the police had moved in and disarmed all the bombs. The platform had to restore the original ending after facing a massive backlash.
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