Gay Reference Scrubbed From New ‘Harry Potter’ Movie For Chinese Release

Warner Bros. has stripped direct references to a gay relationship from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore for the film’s Chinese release.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, which confirmed that Warner Bros. admitted to the move, the studio scrubbed the film of clear references to Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald’s intimate past.

Jude Law portrays Dumbledore in the Harry Potter prequel series, while Grindelwald is played by Mads Mikkelsen. 

While Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling revealed Dumbledore was gay in 2009, the movies had never explicitly mentioned the character’s sexuality until Secrets of Dumbledore.

Dumbledore’s lines “I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love,” which marked the first times he professed his sexuality, were taken out of the film in China.

While the dialogue amounts to just six seconds of the 143-minute film, and other allusions to Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship remained intact, the moment was crucial to understanding the Hogwarts professor’s past.

Warner Bros. issued a statement on the censorship to The Hollywood Reporter. Read it below:

As a studio, we’re committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release, and that extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors. Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets. In the case of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, a six-second cut was requested and Warner Bros. accepted those changes to comply with local requirements but the spirit of the film remains intact. We want audiences everywhere in the world to see and enjoy this film, and it’s important to us that Chinese audiences have the opportunity to experience it as well, even with these minor edits.