Arts & Entertainment
China to release ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ with LGBT content censored
An estimated one minute of footage will be cut
“Bohemian Rhapsody” will be given a limited release in China staring mid-March but the film will be censored for LGBT and drug content.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, footage of Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) kissing other men will be removed from the film. Scenes depicting drug use will also be edited out of the film. Overall, an estimated one minute of footage will be cut.
Although the film will be on a limited release, if the movie is popular enough it could receive a wide release.
The news comes after China censored Rami Malek’s acceptance speech for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
“We made a film about a gay man, an immigrant, who lived his life just unapologetically himself,” Malek told the audience.
In the translation subtitles, a China-based live streaming website switched the words “a gay man” to “a special group.”
China does not have an official policy on LGBT content in media but LGBT content is frequently edited out of TV shows and films.
The Beijing International Film Festival had scheduled a screening of “Call Me By Your Name” but the film’s screening was canceled.
However, China did allow “Beauty and the Beast” to be screened in the country in 2017 with a “gay moment” between LeFou and Gaston.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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