FRIENDS Reunion, at last, dropped on HBO Max and other streaming services on Thursday, 27 May around the world. Every FRIENDS fan waited for the reunion. As fans watched the show with much cheer and grin everywhere In the world, the FRIENDS Reunion in China was somewhat different from the original. It appeared without Lady Gaga, BTS, Bieber in China.
Three of China’s greatest streaming platforms Youku, iQIYI, and Tencent Video are streaming the special. Yet, the platforms have totally altered out scenes featuring American pop artists Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and the well-known South Korean boy band BTS.
The erased scenes incorporate a section where singer Lady Gaga joins Lisa Kudrow for a duet performance on ‘Smelly Cat’. Also, an appearance of Justin Bieber channeling Ross Geller in his potato-themed Halloween ensemble did not appear. In the meantime, a little video message from BTS, where a member of the group opens up on how Friends helped with learning English was also censored.
While other stars including David Beckham, Cindy Crawford, Mindy Kaling, and Malala Yousafzai stayed in the Chinese version. As fans felt outraged for cutting a few scenes, many showed up openly in support of the censorship. They said that the individuals who have ‘slandered China should indeed be banned’. It is at present not clear whether the editing was requested by the Chinese censor board or done by the three platforms.
What was the reason behind censoring these stars?
Lady Gaga hasn’t acted in China since she met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in 2016. After her meeting, Chinese authorities gave a notice prohibiting her from the nation.
Coming to Bieber, he cannot act in China in light of his “bad behavior” during a visit. In 2017, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture affirmed reports expressing that Bieber’s conduct had caused “discontent among the public”. He was also in a difficult situation in 2014 for capturing himself visiting Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni war shrine.
While China has completely boycotted BTS from the country after an award acceptance speech went viral. A year ago in October, BTS did not mention the sacrifices of Chinese soldiers in the Korean War for a prize praising the group’s contributions to US-Korea relations.