Chinese fans of the popular sitcom Friends were furious after censors cut guest stars Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and South Korean boy band BTS from the reunion episode.
When the one-off special of the beloved 1990s sitcom was streamed on three Chinese video platforms, cameos by the celebrities who have all incurred the wrath of the Chinese Communist Party were removed from all versions.
Lady Gaga was banned from touring China in 2016 after she met with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Photo: AFP
Bieber has been blocked since 2014 when he posted a photograph of himself at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo that honors Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals from World War II.
Boy band BTS angered the party last year when they omitted any reference to Chinese fighters who died during the Korean War when speaking about the “history of pain” in the region.
Chinese fans were also quick to point out that local versions of the Friends: The Reunion expunged all LGBTQ references from the special, which was several minutes shorter than the 104 minute show released worldwide on HBO Max on Thursday.
Chinese streaming services iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video did not respond to queries about what prompted the censorship.
The sitcom about six white New Yorkers has a huge following among Chinese millennials and is even recommended in schools as a way to learn English.
The show’s popularity has also spawned Central Perk cafes in several Chinese cities, styled after the hangout regularly featured in the show.
Angry fans took to social media to vent their frustration at the censorship.
“I was waiting for weeks to watch the Friends reunion only to find that the version streamed in China was all mangled,” one user wrote.
“Why can’t the censors just let us enjoy a sitcom?” another asked.
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