Jason Derulo reveals he got a Tā moko after performing at Friday Jams Live. Video / ZM
The new Cats movie's bizarre look sparked an online storm and now Jason Derulo is upset that a certain part of his anatomy was airbrushed out of the final cut.
The release of the first trailer in July left many fans shocked by the "digital fur technology" that transformed the characters into human-cat hybrids and the intense criticism led the studio to make changes to the CGI.
Now Derulo is griping after a change was made to the appearance of his character Rum Tum Tugger, with the R & B singer certain his nether regions were digitally reduced.
"[They] CGI'd the d*** out, 125 per cent. I could see it in the trailer, for sure," he said during an interview on Sirius XM's Andy Cohen Live. "I think [it was done] to make it as cat-like as possible."
He took aim at Instagram last month for taking down a raunchy photo of him that highlighted his "anaconda".
"I have underwear on ... I can't help my size ... #bringbackAnaconda," he told his 5.2 million followers.
Despite his struggles against censorship, Derulo is excited ahead of Cats' Boxing Day release in New Zealand cinemas. The 30-year-old is part of a star-studded cast alongside Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, James Corden, Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba and Ian McKellen in director Tom Hooper's film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical.
"It seems like it's taken a long time, but for this calibre of film with the amount of CGI in it, it's really a fast turnaround," he told the Herald.
"The day's coming pretty soon now so I'm excited."
Jason Derulo attends the world premiere of Cats at Alice Tully Hall in New York. Photo / AP.
Derulo has spoken about the intimate nature of the shoot, during which the actors got up close and personal in long days on set.
"You had to be pretty confident in yourself to come out every single day and see each other — all of each other," he told E!.
"It's really close, really a vulnerable place. You don't really think about it when you're in the moment, but now looking back: that was madness. Really crazy."
Derulo was thrilled to be working with such a group. And despite the number of big personalities, the atmosphere was positive and inclusive.
"I didn't feel any egos, which was really refreshing because some of the biggest stars in the world are in this film, so you don't know what to expect," he told the Herald.
The fact each cast member was stepping outside his or her comfort zone in some way meant everyone was prepared to learn from one another.
"You have these huge Hollywood actors that are singing and dancing for the first time, these incredible dancers that are acting and singing for the first time, you have these musicians that are acting for the first time — there was a lot of firsts for a lot of people — and this was my first film.
"So I felt like it was a really interesting dynamic with a lot of sharing and learning and just being a sponge."
