Gay Asians criticize Oscar censorship

[WillParkinson]

Gay Asians criticize Oscar censorship
By The Associated Press
02.25.2009 8:47am EST

(Kuala Lumpur) Gay Asians voiced indignation Wednesday after television broadcasts of the Academy Awards in their region censored the words “gay” and “lesbian” in speeches that called for equal rights.

The speeches by actor Sean Penn and writer Dustin Lance Black - who won Oscars for their work in “Milk” - were shown in full during live broadcasts of the Oscars that were screened across Asia on Monday morning.

But viewers who caught recorded telecasts in the evening on STAR, an Asian satellite TV service that says it reaches more than 300 million viewers in 53 countries, noticed that the sound was removed whenever both men mentioned “gay” or “lesbian.”

“As a gay man, I am truly offended,” Pang Khee Teik, a prominent Malaysian arts commentator, wrote in a letter sent out to several media organizations. “Stop censoring the words that describe who I am.”

http://www.365gay.com/news/gay-asians-criticize-oscar-censorship/

[JenGatherer]

1. Thanks for reporting on this

It's shocking how they try to keep us down.

[tbyg52]

3. Hey, JenGatherer!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[bigwillq]

5. Hello!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[closeupready]

2. WTF

>>Jannie Poon, STAR’s Hong Kong-based spokeswoman, stressed that the company had no intention of upsetting any viewers, but said it has “a responsibility to take the sensitivities and guidelines of all our markets into consideration.”<<

:puke: Cater to hatred much, Jannie Poon?

[tbyg52]

4. Yeah, that gets used as an excuse for lots of things, doesn't it?

As you so eloquently said, :puke: