Warner Bros. removes gay dialogue from 'Fantastic Beasts 3' for China, says it's a 'minor edit'
Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald
China censoring movies and regulating content is something that is not new to the world. Warner Bros has recently chopped offa few scenes from the 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' after receiving a request from China.
The six-second scene that has been removedfrom the movie talks about a gay relationship. 'Fantastic Beasts3', which was released in cinemas in China on April 8, talks aboutAlbus Dumbledore and his affairwith villainous wizard Gellert Grindelwald.
This is the first film in the Harry Potter franchise whichhas openly revealed Dumbledore's sexuality. The lines that have been cut out are “I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love”.
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As per the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros'spokesperson said in a statement, “As a studio, we’re committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release, and that extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors.”
Further, the studio stated that they have accepted the request of removing the scene but the 'spirit of the film remains intact.
“Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets. In the case of 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore', a six-second cut was requested and Warner Bros. accepted those changes to comply with local requirements but the spirit of the film remains intact. We want audiences everywhere in the world to see and enjoy this film, and it’s important to us that Chinese audiences have the opportunity to experience it as well, even with these minor edits.”
China has always been a big market and movies most of the timerakes in good numbers in the country. The third film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise opened up with good numbers and performed well at the weekends. Looking at the overall numbers, the numbers were low as compared with the last two films - one major reason for low performance is the Covid-19 recent wave in the country.
Netizens and many LGBTQ groups have been slamming the Warners Bros for removing the scene.
This is not the first time we have seen a ban on LGBTQ references in the country. Before this, 'Friends' re-airing was affected due to the lesbian storyline.
