Russian censors butcher Jennifer Coolidge’s most iconic White Lotus scene
The word ‘gay’ has reportedly been removed from The White Lotus on a Russian streaming service. (HBO/Getty/Alexey Danichev)
Jennifer Coolidge’s biblical “these gays are trying to murder me” line in The White Lotus has been drastically altered by a Russian streamer.
According to reports, Coolidge’s line – easily one of the most memed TV moments in recent history – has been edited to replace “gays” with “men” by the streaming service, Amediateka.
Russian news site Meduza states that in the edited version, when Coolidge’s character Tanya proclaims that she’s about to be killed by the evil gays, the boat driver now responds with the dull: “We’re all men here”.
According to Russian website Wonderzine, Tanya’s discovery of Quentin having sex with his ‘nephew’ Jack is also gone, erasing one of the season’s best plot twists.
Another scene featuring Jack’s peachy bum has been (poorly) edited so that it appears to be covered by a sheet, or a wrinkled piece of A4 paper.
In addition, a conversation between Tanya and her assistant Portia about the incestuous sex scene has reportedly been edited, with Tanya telling Portia that the pair were “doing some kind of game”, rather than, you know, shagging.
It comes after Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a hateful new law banning so-called ‘LGBTQ+ propaganda’ for adults.
Under the government order, the country’s federal media regulator, Roskomnadzor, can ban or censor websites or media that host information about LGBTQ+ identities. Any mass-media outlets, internet pages or adverts that promote “non-traditional sexual relationships” can be banned.
However, queer activists in Russia are committed to fighting the propaganda law.
It’s not just The White Lotus that has been butchered in the country, with teen drama Euphoria also being edited to within an inch of its life.
Amediateka appears to have cut the majority of LGBTQ+ content and drug use from Euphoria, with one Twitter user noting that about two hours have been censored.
Without sex and drugs, isn’t Euphoria basically High School Musical?
The stars of The White Lotus and Euphoria are unlikely to be too bothered, considering both shows scored big wins at the Golden Globes earlier this week (10 January).
The White Lotus won the award for Best limited series, anthology series or TV movie, while Jennifer Coolidge scored her first Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress in the show.
Zendaya won Best Actress in a TV series for her role as Euphoria’s troubled main character Rue.
