China Cut All of the LGBT References in Bohemian Rhapsody

From Men's Health

Bohemian Rhapsody, the Oscar-winning film which tells the story of rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, has been released in China-and audiences are confused. Censors have removed all references to Mercury’s sexuality from the movie, drastically altering its narrative.

Six key moments, totalling two minutes of footage, were lifted out of the final edit. “Many scenes in the film didn’t make any sense at all,” one viewer told ABC.

The cut scenes include: a close-up of a man’s crotch; a kiss between Mercury and his boyfriend Paul Prenter; a conversation in which Mercury says “I believe I’m bisexual” and is told “No Freddie, you’re gay”; a reference to a new haircut being “gay”; and an introductory scene and kiss between Mercury and partner Jim Hutton which provides much-needed context for their relationship and Hutton’s whole presence in the movie.

Most confusing to filmgoers and fans of Queen alike was the removal of a scene which pays homage to the iconic “I Want To Break Free” music video, which sees the entire band dressed up in drag as housewives. In the Chinese edit of the movie, Freddie is not seen in drag, and the story skips ahead to the video being banned by MTV.

The fact that a film about such a famously flamboyant queer man was released in China at all has been seen as progressive by some, but this judicious edit tells another story.

"If everyone becomes content with this kind of 'victory,' then the whole world will always submit to authority, creators won't be respected, and there will be no protection for the interests of the audience,” Chinese LGBTQ activist Fan Popo told CNN. “I just think that China has recently been trying to present itself to the world as open-minded.”

He also mentioned that China’s censors are “sexphobic” rather than just homophobic, and “probably the most conservative people in China, that’s why they are chosen for this job.”

This new cut of the movie is just the latest chapter in the movie’s already embattled history with editing. Bohemian Rhapsody won an Academy Award for Best Editing, despite one especially choppy scene becoming the subject of ire online.

Editor John Ottman, who was tasked with putting the film together following a troubled shoot which saw director Bryan Singer leave mid-production, has since said that he regrets some of the choices made in the final cut. “Whenever I see it, I want to put a bag over my head… that’s not my aesthetic,” Ottman said in a recent interview with The Washington Post. “If there’s ever an extended version of the film where I can put a couple scenes back, I will recut that scene!”

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