Italian TV Network Says Sorry For Cutting How To Get Away With Murder Gay Sex Scene

There was a bit of an outcry in Italy over the last three days when one of the country’s biggest free TV networks, Rai TV, aired the pilot episode of How To Get Away With Murder. The problem, which many eagle-eyed viewers noticed, was that a gay sex scene had been snipped out, while all the heterosexual shenanigans was left intact.

The scene, featuring Connor (Jack Falahee) and Oliver (Conrad Riamora), had already been seen by Italian fans when it aired on the pay network, Sky Italia’s Fox, but it was chopped for the Rai TV screening.

The criticism quickly went viral, with comment coming from the makers of the series, including Pete Nowalk who tweeted that he was “shocked and disappointed.” Creator Shonda Rhimes joined in, saying, “Censorship of any love is inexcusable.” While actor Jack Falahee wondered: “audiences in Italia aren’t ready for real life?”

With the protest growing, Rai TV stepped up to apologise and offer a (rather weak) excuse. As Variety reports, ‘Rai 2 director Ilaria Dallatana responded in a statement claiming “there was no censorship, simply an excess of modesty” on the part of an overzealous female editor who had made the edits without her approval. Dallatana ordered the episode to be rebroadcast uncensored on Sunday evening in the same primetime slot.’

One of the reasons it’s a slightly weak excuse is that Rai has previously been subject to numerous accusations of censoring gay content, and so can’t claim to be unaware of the issue. It was previously criticised for cutting the gay sex scene from Brokeback Mountain, as well as for apparently apparently only allowing straight couple to get onstage and kiss during a televised concert last year.

Italy lags behind the rest of western Europe on LGBT rights, only begrudging giving gay couple  some right in the last few months, but stopping far short of backing gay marriage or officially sanctioning gay adoptions. While it’s believed the population is open to giving more rights to LGBT people, the strength of the Catholic Church in the country has made even getting the limited rights passed recently difficult.