The line featured in the original 2002 Spider-Man film
ITV edited out a line that some have labelled homophobic from it’s recent broadcast of the first Spider-Man film.
The 2002 film, which sees Tobey Maguire star for the first time as the superhero, was aired on ITV2 on Sunday night.
In one scene, Peter Parker is taking part in a cage match against wrestler Bone Saw, and it’s in this scene that the ‘homophobic’ line is removed.
In the unedited version, Peter says to his opponent: “That’s a cute outfit, did your husband give it to you?”
But in the UK television version, he just says: “That’s a cute outfit.”
The change was noticed by a Twitter user, who posted a clip of the scene with the caption: “They removed Peter Parker’s homophobia.”
THEY REMOVED PETER PARKER'S HOMOPHOBIA pic.twitter.com/QmbFabVpc7
— PaperPlane (@PaperPlaneTF) April 23, 2022
Spider-Man was a huge box office success when it was released two decades ago, coming well before the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and arguably marking the start of the superhero movie craze that has characterised cinema in recent years.
But whilst the film has become an undeniable classic, this line clearly hasn’t aged well, with ITV deciding to cut it from the film.
Many welcomed the move, with one person writing: “When the punchline is gay marriage, it’s not really a good punchline.”
Another said: “I’m not condoning or condemning the act of changing old movies, but kids watch superhero movies. If you don’t expose them to lines like that, they can’t repeat them.
“It may not do a mountain of good, but it’s removing one possible source for kids to learn homophobia.”
I'm not condoning or condemning the act of changing old movies, but…
Kids watch superhero movies. If you don't expose them to lines like that, they can't repeat them. It may not do a mountain of good, but it's removing one possible source for kids to learn homophobia.
— Solis (@Medicus1220) April 24, 2022
Others questioned whether the line really needed removing. One user commented: “Political correctness strikes again.”
Another sarcastically wrote: “Congratulations everyone, ITV has obliterated homophobia by censoring a harmless joke from a 20 year old movie.”
Related links:
- Man holds pee long enough to break Guinness World Record watching Spider-Man: No Way Home 292 times
- Arsenal fan given three-year ban for shouting homophobic abuse
- Superman writer donates to LGBT charity under names of homophobic trolls
