‘The Boys’ Creator Details the One Racy Scene Amazon Removed

Zack Sharf

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Amazon’s new series “The Boys” takes a hard R-rated look at comic book superheroes, but not every NSFW moment was able to fly under the streaming giant’s radar. During a recent Reddit AMA (via The Wrap), “The Boys” co-creator Erik Kripke said that Amazon cut one scene from the show that depicted one of the characters, Anthony Starr’s Homelander, pulling down his pants and masturbating over New York City.

“There was one scene that Amazon said, ‘Fuck no you have to cut,'” Kripke said. “I couldn’t quite understand why considering everything else we have in the show, but Homelander, after being dressed down by Stilwell (Elisabeth Shue) in episode 2, was standing on one of the Chrysler building Eagles. He pulled his pants down and started jerking off, mumbling ‘I can do whatever I want’ over and over again until he climaxed all over New York City.”

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Kripke said the masturbation scene was filmed with the intention of including it in the series’ second episode. The co-creator praised Starr for his performance the scene and lamented Amazon deciding it should not be included in the show’s release.

“Amazon seemed to think it wasn’t necessary. I thought it told me something about his psyche,” Kripke said. “To be clear, they’ve been great, that may have been the only fight I lost in Season 1.”

For anyone who has watched “The Boys” Season 1, Amazon’s decision to remove a public masturbation scene might seem odd considering just how racy the show gets. Kripke created the series with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg based on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s graphic novel series. The show’s first season depicts some shocking sexual acts, including one moment in which a superhero shrinks down in size and jumps into a woman’s vagina.

“The Boys” features Starr opposite Elizabeth Shue, Dominique McElligott, Chace Crawford, Jack Quaid, and Karl Urban. The series’ graphic nature has divided some critics, although IndieWire’s Ben Travers writes in his B review the series shows promise by the end. Amazon has already renewed “The Boys” for a second season. The show’s first season is now streaming in its entirety on Amazon Prime.

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