Chinese fans of Friends were finally able to watch the long-awaited part of the popular series. Unlike viewers from other countries, however, they lacked something on television screens. The Chinese version did not feature the popular singer Lady Gaga, singer Justin Bieber or the South Korean boy band BTS.
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A special episode, which could be described more as a reunion of the main characters, was available in China on three streaming platforms. However, shortened and censored versions appeared everywhere. It is not clear whether the companies censored themselves or whether it was an order of the Chinese government. The iQiyi platform shortened the 1-hour and 44-minute part by 6 minutes, Tencent Video by about 5 minutes, and a version about 4 minutes shorter was available on Youku. The news server informed about it BBC.
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The Chinese had to regret the stars who had offended the Asian power in the past, the footage of members of the LGBTQ community, but also the playback of an iconic scene of the series, which is about urination.
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Politically incorrect singers
The popular American singer and actress Lady Gaga made a serious mark on China in 2016 after visiting the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Chinese officials subsequently banned her from performing in China, so deleting from the cult series was obvious. The duet with the representative Phoebe, the actress Lisa Kudrowová, with whom Gaga cut the legendary song “Stinks”, had to disappear from the Chinese version.
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Chinese spectators also lost a fashion show presented by the Canadian singer Justin Bieber, who walked along the catwalk disguised in Ross’s legendary potato costume and the Soviet satellite Sputnik. Bieber caused a crack in 2014 when he shared a photo from a visit to the controversial Japanese Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The temple is dedicated to soldiers and civilians who died fighting for the Japanese emperor, and is considered a symbol in China and South Korea that the Japanese do not regret their past. Like Lady Gaga, the singer is not allowed to perform in China.
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The lesser-known but globally successful boy band BTS from South Korea in the Czech Republic was probably cut due to last year’s comment by one of the seven members of the group. The boy band leader, known as RM last year, said South Korea shared a “painful past” with the United States over the Korean War.
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The war between 1950 and 1953 between the UN-backed South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, informally backed by the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China. Therefore, Chinese fans did not have the opportunity to find out why South Korean musicians like the series.
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Apart from a few celebrities, scenes related to the LGBTQ community did not pass. For example, the Chinese did not learn that the German gay Ricardo got the feeling that he belonged somewhere thanks to the series.
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The Youku platform has cut out a shot of a woman pulling her partner together as she says, “Like any Chandler, I found my Monica.” lingerie photo of Ross’s face.
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The iQiyi and Tencent platforms again cut out footage, with the actors replaying a scene at the table in which Monika tells about Chandler peeing on her leg after being dragged by a jellyfish.
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American sitcom is extremely popular in China. According to Chinese millennials, the series helped them gain insight into American culture and also taught them English. The modified version infuriated many of them, and it wasn’t long before the deleted parts began circulating on social networks and pirated sites.
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Censorship is not uncommon among Chinese broadcasters. Footage that is seen as politically incorrect or culturally inappropriate is often omitted. The last time in April, the logos of clothing companies that decided to boycott the Uighur detention facility in Xinjiang disappeared from television screens.
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In recent days, American actor and former wrestler John Cena has also aroused entertainment on social networks, who has decided to publicly apologize to China for calling Taiwan a country.
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