Rami Malek dedicated his Best Actor win at the Oscars on Sunday to Freddie Mercury but a broadcaster in China censored a key aspect of the Queen frontman’s life in the speech.
According to the BBC, popular Chinese channel Mango TV scrubbed out Malek’s reference to Mercury’s homosexuality.
“We made a film about a gay man, an immigrant, who lived his life unapologetically himself,” Malek said in his speech.
But Mango TV reportedly translated “gay men” into “special group.”
The censorship drew criticism on Chinese blogs and social media, with one person writing, “Even the word ‘gay’ can’t appear on our screens, this is so sad.”
Another person asked, “What on earth are they afraid of?”
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This isn’t the first time Mango TV has faced controversy over censorship of LGBTQ themes.
In 2018 the network was barred from broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest after censorship, which included blurring rainbow pride flags.
