Lisa Kudrow and Lady Gaga's scene in the Friends reunion show didn't pass muster with China's censors.
Lisa Kudrow and Lady Gaga's scene in the Friends reunion show didn't pass muster with China's censors.
The highly anticipated reunion episode of popular US sitcom Friends finally hit our screens on Thursday - but in China, it looked a little different after streaming websites censored a number of celebrity cameos for political reasons.
Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and K-pop band BTS were all cut out, apparently because they had been seen to insult Beijing in the past.
American singer and actress Lady Gaga has been banned from touring in China since 2016 after she met with the Dalai Lama and showed her support for the Tibetan spiritual leader, who advocates for separatism.
As a result, Chinese viewers would not have seen her singing the iconic Smelly Cat song with the sitcom's star Lisa Kudrow in the reunion show.
They would also have missed Justin Bieber's appearance dressed as Spudnik - the potato and satellite combination suit that Ross wore in one episode to a Halloween party.
The Canadian pop star has also been banned from performing in China after posting a photo of himself visiting a controversial shrine in Tokyo, which honours fallen warriors and pays tribute to convicted war criminals and is seen in China and South Korea as a symbol of Japan not being sorry for its empire's past.
He has since apologised and removed the picture.
Lady Gaga has been banned from touring in China since 2016. Photo / AP
The reunion show also included tributes from fans, among them K-pop boy band BTS.
In the uncut episode, its leader, RM, says the sitcom had taught him "the things about life and true friendship".
But that was censored too. BTS has been banned from Chinese social media since last year after a member of the band made some controversial comments about the Korean War.
He referenced South Korea's shared "history of pain" with the US over the 1950-53 conflict, in which the two countries fought together. His remarks angered Chinese social media users, as Beijing had backed North Korea in the war.
It remains unclear whether Beijing issued a censorship directive or if the three streaming platforms, iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video, made the cuts on their own.
Friends remains a hugely popular show in China, with many watching it to learn English and get to know American culture.
Justin Bieber has also been banned from performing in China after posting a photo of himself visiting a controversial shrine in Japan. Photo / Nick Reed
By Friday afternoon, the topic "Friends reunion" had attracted more than 180 million hits on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. Some people agreed with the edits.
"These are stars insulting China; stars supporting three independence [HK, Taiwan, Tibet]; it's normal to cut them," said one Weibo user.
"Actually I'm not sure why this reunion included all those irrelevant people?" asked another.
But others questioned what the point was of airing the show if it was going to be censored.
"Speechless, If you introduce [the TV series], don't delete. If you cut out, don't introduce," said one.
A number of LGBTQ references, deemed controversial in China, were also censored.
The Chinese government maintains a heavy hand over what residents have access to on social media channels and in films, TV shows and newspapers. The reasons vary - and sometimes make no sense at all - but cuts and blocks are largely put in place if a person or topic featured is regarded as politically contentious.
The film Nomadland, which recently won two Oscars for best director and best film, was banned in China because its director, Chloe Zhao, had previously made a comment on social media saying that the country was "a place where there are lies everywhere".
Christopher Robin (2018) was also banned in the Communist country for featuring Winnie-the-Pooh. The much-loved cartoon character was censored after social media users compared Pooh's appearance to the current Chinese President Xi Jinping.
