Friends reunion censored in China, cutting Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and BTS
Something was amiss in China's version of the much-anticipated Friends reunion special: guest stars BTS, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber were nowhere to be seen.
Eagle-eyed fans found the stars were cut on all three Chinese streamers with broadcast rights. LGBTQ references, among other things, were also gone, BBC News reported.
It is believed that footage of the stars were cut because they are deemed to have insulted China in the past.
The US sitcom is hugely popular in China, and the censorship upset fans.
"Help! Are we never going to move on and change? This will just make me want to find out more about the cut scenes," one person commented on microblogging platform Weibo.
Some fans have since sourced and shared the deleted clips on social media on their own, while others circulated links to the uncensored, full episode, hosted on piracy sites.
Friends has a massive following in the country, with many Chinese millennials crediting the show with introducing them to American culture and also teaching them English.
The reunion episode had brought all six principal cast members together to talk about their time on the beloved series, along with interviews with celebrities and fans.