Advertisement

Nothing to see here: Malaysian TV network censors actresses’ dresses at the Oscars, netizens puzzled

One of Malaysia’s oldest TV stations has earned ridicule online for its decision to blur the bodies of two celebrity presenters from Sunday’s Academy Awards while replaying a clip during one of its news programs.

Jessica Chastain and Halle Berry, the Oscar presenters for Best Actress, were shown with their entire bodies blurred out, leaving only their faces visible, in a snippet from a news program posted on the Buletin TV3 official Facebook page. For close-up shots of the duo, only their cleavage was blurred out.

Although Malaysians were overjoyed by Michelle Yeoh’s historic win in the category, this particular incident definitely caught the public’s eye online.

The censorship elicited predictable reactions from Malaysians and non-Malaysians alike, with many expressing confusion and dismay.

Commenters raised concerns about the policing of what people can see and how women appear in public in Malaysia.

The censorship, according to some, was unnecessary because it made the women look lewd even when they were properly dressed.

Others pointed out that Malaysia has far more serious issues than partially exposed chests.

One Twitter user commented that men’s bare chests were also subjected to censorship, implying that there is some equity.

Other stories to check out:

New Rules: No cross-dressing for foreign male artists, no gigs on Islamic public holidays

Concert organizers in Malaysia must now heed new rules that have been added by the Central Agency for Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artists (Puspal). Among those rules…

Religious preacher tells Malaysians that Michelle Yeoh’s win is only for the faithless, nothing to be proud of

When actress Michelle Yeoh won Best Actress at the Academy Awards on Sunday, it was only natural that Malaysians were overjoyed with her success and felt proud that someone from…

Blackpink’s concert ‘a bigger threat than religious activities’ according to a conservative Malaysian politician

Blackpink, the biggest girl group in the world recently held a concert in Malaysia that saw around 60,000 attendees at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium and if you’re familiar with…