The award-winning Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody has been released in China – but with all references to the iconic frontman’s homosexuality cut from the film.
The Queen biopic details the lives of the band and lead singer ahead of their infamous 1985 Live Aid appearance.
The news that Bohemian Rhapsody would have a limited Chinese screening was announced last month and initially came as a surprise due to the country’s history of censoring or blocking content which featured LGBT+ characters.
The film will only be given a limited release at present, however, if it proves popular with cinema-goers, it could be picked up for a wider release.
The BBC has now reported that the Chinese release of the film is without several key scenes deleted from the film, notably ones which showed two men kissing and any mention of the word “gay”.
Any references to Mercury’s sexuality have been edited out, including the pivotal scene of the singer coming out to his then-girlfriend which left viewers with no context as to why the pair parted ways.
A recreation of the music video for ‘I Want To Break Free’, which saw the band dress in women’s clothes was removed, along with a shot of Mercury holding a microphone near his groin.
Most scenes between Mercury and his long-term partner Jim Hutton were also removed, including a real-life photo of the couple retracted from the closing credits.
In February, Rami Malek won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Mercury in the film, citing that the film’s success showed that “we’re longing for stories like this – we made a film about a gay man, an immigrant, who lived his life just unapologetically himself,” during his acceptance speech.
However, his speech was censored by Chinese broadcasters, with subtitles translating “gay man” to “special group”.
Earlier this month, it was hinted that a sequel to Bohemian Rhapsody could be on its way.
