Malaysia does it again.
While eyes are turning towards the continent of Asia as it slowly develops LGBTQ rights, the country of Malaysia is staying vigilant against them.
Between banning tourists looking to participate in gay events, politicians like the Deputy Prime Minister expressing homophobic rhetoric, and the banning of gay content in films like Beauty & The Beast, the country continues to express anti-gay views. This is in spite of subtle rises of LGBTQ representation like gay pop star Alextbh.
Now, the country has enacted yet another effort to quiet down LGBTQ representation and this time in the form of the film Bohemian Rhapsody.
According to Malay Mail, 24 minutes have been cut from the Queen biopic due to references to lead singer Freddie Mercury’s (played by Rami Malek) sexuality. This includes Mercury telling his fiancée Mary Austin that he’s bisexual and the drag scene for the music video “I Want to Break Free.”
In addition, the film has been given a mature 18 rating to prevent younger viewers from watching the movie.
This again is reminiscent of what happened with Beauty & The Beast, which tried to arrive in Malaysia last year. The country’s Censorship Bureau tried to have the “gay moment” concerning semi-villainous character LeFou (played by Josh Gad) edited out for Malaysian viewing. That said, Disney refused and thus passed up on showing the film in the country.
Now, Malaysian citizens on social media are complaining to their government about this second instance of censorship.
