9 Aug, 2016 04:41

Delta Airlines under fire for censoring lesbian kiss from Carol movie

Delta Airlines has invited criticism after showing an edited version of the movie Carol, which removed all kissing scenes between the lead actresses.

Carol is a love story set in the 1950s, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. It follows the relationship between two women who fall for each other in a repressive New York.

.@Delta is censoring @CarolMovie & not showing lesbian kissing on screen. Make #FreeCarol a movement!! pic.twitter.com/jal6Gmvjpz
— Jesse Steinbach (@JesseSteinbach) August 5, 2016

Passengers began to tweet about the missing scenes, leading to outrage over the airline’s censorship.

Watched CAROL on a plane & they edited it so the main characters never even kiss. Booooooo.

Two women kissing is fine for planes.
— Cameron Esposito (@cameronesposito) August 3, 2016

Comedian Cameron Esposito was one of the first to tweet about the cut scenes, describing the kisses as “not dirty.”

She also pointed to a movie her fellow passenger was watching, which involved scenes depicting BDSM.

BTW my seatmate totally watching something where Paul Giamatti was participating in BDSM w/ a lady but CAROL had no kissing!?

VERY MAD.
— Cameron Esposito (@cameronesposito) August 3, 2016

Another said someone on their flight was watching a movie featuring topless women.

@cameronesposito @SarahPinsker Are you kidding me? Guy next to me watched a movie with topless women in a strip club on my flight - no issue
— TK Larson (@GallopinDragons) August 4, 2016

@cameronesposito WHAT? that would never happen with a straight movie. I'm actually outraged by the thought, that is a beautiful film.
— Melissa / Em (@CantBeatEm30) August 3, 2016

Other airlines, including Lufthansa, chose not to edit the movie. According to screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, United Airlines and American Airlines also chose to show the unedited version.

@cameronesposito I watched it on an @lufthansa plane and it was entirely unedited. Shame on whoever you were flying with!
— Clare (@SweetClareoline) August 3, 2016

Dammit; too late 2 fly another airline instead of @delta tomorrow. But when I book my next trip 4 next month, it won't be #Delta. #FreeCarol
— J (@Womenspeakup) August 7, 2016

Delta responded to the uproar, saying it chose the edited version of the film due to explicit scenes in the original.

“The edited version removes two explicit scenes that do not meet our guidelines. The edited version also removes all kissing,” they explained, according to the Independent.

@Delta @DeltaAssist #freecarol don't pander to bigotry! Fix it NOW!! Despite being a diamond & shareholder I will abandon you!!!
— Nick Young (@NickYoungXXX) August 8, 2016

A #FreeCarol hashtag was started to urge Delta to reconsider. Some were so unimpressed by the move, they said they would no longer use the airline.

hey @Delta, it's 2016 #freecarol
— richard f (@Freaking_Rad) August 6, 2016

Really @Delta ?!? Censoring your in flight entertainment to remove gay scenes? Guess which airline I won't be using. #FreeCarol
— Bradley Tabor (@nobodysside80) August 6, 2016

@Delta You just lost a customer. Worth losing my miles over. #FreeCarol #LGBTQ https://t.co/pfNCvnDG02
— Terry Roy (@tmroy) August 5, 2016

One social media user floated the theory that the recent grounding of all Delta Airlines flights was, in fact, a way for the airline to undo the controversy.