In China, streaming sites deleted scenes featuring BTS, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga from HBO Max’s highly anticipated ‘Friends’ reunion episode.
The megastars are among the list of celebrities who made guest appearances on Friends: The Reunion.
Justin Bieber showed up in the show dressed in Ross Geller’s iconic “Spudnik” costume, while Lady Gaga joined Lisa Kudrow in performing Phoebe Buffay’s classic song “Smelly Cat.” And K-pop band BTS expressed their admiration for the sitcom in an interview, with RM saying he learned English by watching Friends.
However, these scenes were removed in the Chinese versions of the HBO show that premiered on Thursday on iQiYi, Tencent Video, and Youku — three of China’s largest streaming platforms.
As of this writing, it’s unclear if the censorship is mandated by the government, or the platforms have decided to block the stars to lessen political risks.
Last year, BTS faced boycott calls in China after the band member RM endorsed the alliance between South Korea and the United States during the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict is that Beijing fought on the side of North Korea against the South.
In Justin Bieber’s case, he was previously banned from performing in China, with officials blaming his “bad behavior” in 2017. The Chinese officials did not specify which of his actions caused the ban.
But there are reports that claimed that the “bad behavior” is pertaining to a show when Bieber was carried up the steps of the Great Wall when he performed in China in 2013.
The next year, the singer posted an Instagram photo of himself visiting Japan’s controversial Yasukuni war shrine, which is regarded by the Chinese as a symbol of the Japanese invasion during WWII. Bieber later apologized for the post.
Lady Gaga has been banned from Chinese TV after her meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama in 2016, who is labeled a separatist by the Chinese government.
But other guest celebrities in the episode, including Cara Delevingne, David Beckham, Malala Yousafzai, and Cindy Clawford could still be found in the Chinese versions of the Friends episode.
It is known that Friends has a large fan base in China, with many millennials learned English and American culture through the sitcom. Several replicas of the fictitious Central Perk cafe have also emerged in the country’s big cities.
While the reunion special brought joy to its Chinese fans, they are still divided over the news about the blocked guest celebrities.
Some fans are upset that they only get to watch a censored version, while others say that they don’t mind the deleted scenes, especially that the blocked guests have insulted China.
Tencent, iQiYi, and Alibaba, which owns Youku, did not respond or released a statement regarding the matter.