“Bohemian Rhapsody” will be given limited release in China, with an estimated one minute of footage depicting same-sex kissing and drug use cut from the movie. In February, a China-based live streaming website censored “Bohemian Rhapsody” actor Rami Malek’s acceptance speech for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, translating “a gay man” as “a special group.”
Though China has no official policy censoring LGBT+ media, LGBT+ content is routinely removed from shows and films. “Call Me By Your Name” was originally slated for screening at the Beijing International Film Festival in 2018, but was pulled from the lineup at the last minute with no official explanation.
The film’s censorship comes amid a larger pattern of increased restrictions on the Chinese LGBT+ community.
Read more at the Washington Blade.