Something was missing in the Chinese version of the highly anticipated special episode of Friends aired on Thursday 27 May all over the world and seen by millions of fans of the Nineties TV series. From the reunion of about an hour and a half, the cameos of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and the K-Pop super star band BTS were cut, all “guilty” of having offended Beijing in the past. Chinese fans noticed the censorship that his social network immediately expressed their anger. “Help! Will we never change? This makes me want to see the deleted scenes even more, ”commented a user on the Weibo microblogging platform. Other fans have acquired and shared the deleted clips or full episode link.
Because “Friends” appeals to the Chinese public
Friends has a huge following in China with many young kids who credit the show for introducing them to the English language and American culture. The “faults” of the censored characters date back several years ago. In total, six minutes were missing from the special episode compared to the versions distributed worldwide and, here in Italy, broadcast by Sky and Now TV. There are several reasons why the American superstars who are guests of the program have suffered the censorship of the People’s Republic.
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Why China is afraid of Lady Gaga & co.
Lady Gaga was prevented from touring China for meeting the Dalai Lama in 2016. Justin Bieber is also no longer able to perform in the country since he visited the controversial Yasukuni temple in Tokyo in 2014, considered by China and Korea to the South a symbol of Japan’s imperialism. As for the BTS, they ended up in the Chinese authorities’ crosshairs last year after one of the members, moreover the protagonist of the clip aired during the special of Friends, spoke of the “history of suffering” shared by South Korea and the US in the 1950-53 conflict, in which the two countries fought together against China-backed North Korea.