‘How To Get Away With Murder’ star Jack Falahee and Shonda Rhimes call out Italian TV’s censorship of gay sex scene in show
When an Italian network cut a steamy same-sex scene from the pilot of How to Get Away with Murder, Shonda Rhimes, star Jack Falahee, and series creator Pete Nowalk had one response: We object!
Falahee, who plays openly gay law student Connor Walsh on the ABC series, heard from fans this weekend that Italian network, Rai Due, had edited out a scene in which Connor seduces his eventual boyfriend Oliver (Conrad Ricamora) to gain information for the defense.
Retweeting a side-by-side cut of the two scenes that a viewer had made, he drew attention to the discrepancy, writing, “Damn, this is crazy.”
From there, he continued to speak out against the censorship, urging viewers to sign a petition against the network and asking one follower, “Do you really believe that audiences in Italia aren’t ‘ready’ for real life? Even Vatican has begun to open its eyes.”
Falahee’s campaign caught the attention of HTGAWM producer Rhimes, who retweeted several of her star’s posts while issuing her own series of tweets: “Censorship of any love is inexcusable. … Question #shondalandfamily: have u noticed LGBTQ scenes censored on our shows in other countries before?
Nowalk soon joined the conversation, too, writing, “I haven’t heard of this until now. Shocked and disappointed.”
After the social media uproar, Rai Due issue an apology (though Falahee initially considered them to be “dodging the issue at hand” and “assigning [blame]”); the network also ultimately aired the original cut of the episode.
Both Nowalk and Falahee credited the fans for their part in the reversal, with Nowalk writing, “Good news, thanks to all the fans for making this happen,” and Falahee affirming, “WE ended censorship in this case. YOU ALL inspire me. Thank you for your voices!”
How to Get Away with Murder returns to ABC on Sept. 22.
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8 Comments
kaytee
July 14, 08:10kudos
Delle
July 14, 10:27I’d shoot anyone for Jack Falahee!
Lorde
July 14, 14:52Loool! You and me both! I’d even shoot you for jack falahee
Pink Panther
July 14, 15:29So thirsty. Tsk tsk.
Delle
July 14, 18:47That’s if you’re not already in the pool of your own blood before you even think out where you kept your gun. Lol!
Wiffey
July 14, 11:41See me see trouble
That hot ♨ scene
Abeg let them reverse it, i can’t fit shout
Cedar
July 14, 23:10As in ehn. Dat scene had me and one guy debating 4 mins, almost outed me.
Jo
July 15, 09:12As in eh