There are lots of different movies that haven't aged well over the years, but sometimes it's not as easy as a whole movie with a kind of offensive or distasteful premise — sometimes the only issue in an otherwise classic movie is one or two lines or scenes. The debate about censorship of art often comes up when people suggest removing the lines or scenes in question, and that's no different with what one fan spotted in a television broadcast of the original Spider-Man film from 2002.
A 'Homophobic' Line Has Been Removed From The Original 'Spider-Man' Film
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In the original 'Spider-Man' film, Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man fights against pro-wrestler Bone Saw.
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In the unedited scene, Spider-Man crawls up the cage wall and says to Bone Saw, "That's a cute outfit. Did your husband give it to you?"
The joke is that Peter Parker is implying that ultra-macho wrestler Bone Saw is gay, something which angers the wrestler for the rest of the scene. This didn't sit well with all fans. "When the punchline is gay marriage it's not really a good punchline," one wrote.
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However, one Twitter user shared that on ITV, the line had been edited.
In the new version of the scene, as shared above, Peter Parker says "That's a cute outfit," and the rest of the joke is removed from the audio.
While this is a really minor change, it has some fans of the movie speaking out on Twitter against censorship.
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Others understood why the edit was made, even if they didn't support it personally.
"Here’s the thing. The quote was definitely homophobic given what we know about the early 2000’s. This isn’t a debate in the slightest. Is Peter Parker homophobic? Probably not. But that’s another thing, these aren’t real people. They are characters write on a whim. Go outside," said one fan.
What do you think? Was the edit a good idea or not? Let us know in the comments!
