Chinese censor uses AI to alter gender of gay character in Dave Franco and Alison Brie's Together; viewers slam move

In what is being seen as a new frontier in censorship, the Chinese version of Hollywood stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie's thriller Together has altered the gender of a gay character, turning a same-sex relationship into a heterosexual one.

China version of Together missing gay couple

The move, which likely involved the use of artificial intelligence (AI) models, has sparked a wave of criticism on social media, with viewers calling it disrespectful and an overreach.

In Together, the face of one of the men in a same-sex relationship was replaced with a woman’s face for the film's release in China. The edit sparked backlash from viewers, many of whom only noticed after social media posts compared the altered scene with the original.

Viewers react

Four people who saw the film in China — where it began pre-release screening on September 12 — told Bloomberg News that the version they watched showed a heterosexual couple in the minute-long scene. They said nothing seemed unusual at the time, and they only learned about the edits later through social media.

On social media, Chinese viewers called out the local distributors of the film. “This is disrespectful to the original work and another challenge to audience’s tolerance,” one user wrote on film rating and social networking website Douban. “They want our money but won’t show us the complete version. It’s also disrespectful to the LGBT community.”

Bloomberg reported that the China Film Administration didn’t immediately respond to questions about the alteration or whether AI was used. The film’s Chinese distributor, China Film Digital Movie Development (Beijing) Co., its US distributor NEON Rated, and Australian director Michael Shanks didn’t respond to emailed inquiries.

As criticism mounted online, the film’s Chinese distributor halted its wide release a day before its scheduled debut last week, citing “changes in the film’s distribution plan.” It didn’t provide a new release date. The film currently holds a 90% approval score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Censorship in China

This isn't the first time a Western film has been censored or edited for release in China, particularly with reference to the presence of LGBTQ characters.

In 2019, a version of Bohemian Rhapsody shown in China deleted references to Freddie Mercury’s sexuality. Warner Bros. in 2022 removed two lines of dialogue about a gay relationship for the Chinese release of its Harry Potter movie. Such censorship extends to TV — that same year Chinese streaming platforms removed references to a lesbian character from the hit NBC sitcom Friends.

While homosexuality has been decriminalised in China for almost three decades, in recent years, the Chinese government has tightened its grip on civil society, squeezing the space for LGBTQ advocacy groups and contributing to the closure of organisations like the Beijing LGBT Centre.

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