Delta Air Lines is in trouble again concerning censorship of its in-flight movies.
Back in 2016, Delta was massively criticized for deleting the kisses between Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in its in-flight version of the Oscar-nominated film Carol. And now, Delta has been caught doing the same thing to two other movies.
Shana Krochmal, the digital director of Entertainment Weekly, recently took a flight through Delta. It was during this flight that Krochmal realized Delta had censored the intimate and romantic moments between Elton John and John Reid. That said, the airline kept the assault scene between the characters.
As Krochmal wrote on Twitter:
“On @Delta today discovered that #Rocketman is stripped of almost every gay reference or scene that @eltonofficial fought to keep in the film’s mainstream release, including a simple chaste kiss. This is good context but it’s still frustrating.”
Krochmal then added:
“As @yayponies pointed out in a very justified rant, what does it say that the edit left in a scene of John Reid assaulting Elton but removed any evidence of intimacy between them or for that matter Elton and any man? What is that saying is OK?”
As @yayponies pointed out in a very justified rant, what does it say that the edit left in a scene of John Reid assaulting Elton but removed any evidence of intimacy between them or for that matter Elton and any man? What is that saying is OK?
— shana (@shananaomi) October 30, 2019
I am about 99 percent sure I saw a fully uncensored R-rated version on Air Canada earlier this year, btw (which was also the norm for R-rated films on Virgin America).
— shana (@shananaomi) October 30, 2019
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only LGBTQ-specific edit found on a Delta in-flight movie. Almost simultaneously, it was discovered that Delta also deleted a bathroom kiss in the 2019 lesbian film Booksmart. According to the Washington Post, Delta also edited out words like “vagina” and “genitals,” talk about lesbian sex, talk of a urinary tract infection, and a scene where the main character and a friend watch an adult film.
Keep in mind that the responsibility and blame doesn’t lie on Delta alone. According to ThePointsGuy, airlines work with censorship companies to edit anything that could be considered offensive in its films. This is especially important for international flights where laws, religious codes, and social outlooks shift quickly like the wind.
Censoring the word lesbian is just batshit insane what is going on 😳 https://t.co/Rdq2wh68QO
— olivia wilde (@oliviawilde) October 28, 2019
In response to the controversy, Delta Air Lines released the following statement:
“Delta’s content parameters do not in any way ask for the removal of homosexual content from the film. We value diversity and inclusion as core to our culture and our mission and will review our processes to ensure edited video content doesn’t conflict with these values.”
This harbors back to a statement Delta shared with The Advocate back in 2017.
“Delta has committed to not showing a film at all when an edited version is required but goes beyond omitting explicit material to remove scenes that reflect the diversity of our employees and customers,” a spokesperson told the publication.
Source: The Washington Post, ThePointsGuy
