MANILA, Philippines - Why is Channel V Philippines censoring the lyrics of Lady Gaga's pro-gay song "Born This Way?"
In a statement, webzine editor Michael David Tan said the music channel removed the controversial line "No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I’m on the right track, baby" from the Lady Gaga music video.
"Not everyone likes Born This Way, much more agree with Elton John when he said this is the new 'gay anthem.' But for a song that even Lady Gaga herself said is a celebration of being different to be butchered to remove highlighting the celebration of what makes LGBTs different from others is reprehensible," said Tan, publisher of Webzine Outrage Magazine (www.outragemag.com), the only LGBT-related publication in the Philippines.
"Plain and simple, this is homophobia in action," Tan added.
In an interview, Tan said he does not know if the music video being played on Channel V Philippines was sourced from Malaysia or countries where the song could have been censored.
"Why not source it from the US? It's their responsibility to air it as it was originally conceived," Tan told abs-cbnNEWS.com.
Earlier, on March 17, Malaysia made the news when radio stations opted playing the song only with the same line replaced with indecipherable sound.
The lyrics are apparently considered "offensive when viewed against Malaysia's social and religious observances," according to a report by the Associated Press.
Lady Gaga in her official Twitter account said last week that the point with 'Born This Way 'is to "fight for something that not everyone believes in. To overcome adversity with a message."
Emails sent to Channel V's corporate office in Kowloon, Hong Kong; as well as Channel V Philippines remain unanswered.
Courtesy: ABS-CBNnews.com
