‘Schitt’s Creek’ Creator Dan Levy Calls Out Indian TV Censorship

Dan Levy, creator of the TV show Schitt’s Creek, called out India’s Comedy Central channel for censorship in a tweet Tuesday. The actor and writer noted that the station removed a scene from the sitcom where two men kiss. He also clarified in a follow-up message that the moment was not omitted on Comedy Central in the United States.

“You showed the kiss between two women, you showed the kiss between a woman and a man, then removed the kiss between two men? This is a show about the power of inclusivity. The censorship of gay intimacy is making a harmful statement against that message,” wrote Levy.

In the scene, Levy’s character and another male are engaged in a game of spin-the-bottle. The pair share a kiss at a party in front of their significant others. The brief scene was edited from the Indian outlet’s social media post that promised “drama.”

You can view his tweet here.

“My world is full of amazing and different characters who each love, laugh, and live their lives in the way that makes them happy..i’m happy to include everyone in my tv wold as well..btw, David has become one of my fav characters…Do you really want to go back to Mayberry times?” Levy wrote in his follow-up post, which can be seen here.

The Southeast Asian broadcast outlet had not yet responded to Levy’s comments on social media.

The satire was recognized by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) at its 2019 awards ceremony. Schitt’s Creek was one of 10 comedies nominated for prizes by the alliance last year.

This is not the first encounter that Levy and the sitcom have had with censorship. The United Kingdom channel 4Music also removed similar scenes in 2019. The network later issued an apology and blamed “human error,” noting future broadcasts would not omit the scene in question. The creator later thanked 4Music for correcting its decision.

This is also not the first time that the censorship of Western programs by Comedy Central’s Indian station has been called into question in 2020. The foreign channel’s Facebook page also edited a clip of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, according to HuffPost.

The Daily Show post removed a reference to President Donald Trump’s enjoyment of beef. The import and export of beef are banned in India. Cattle are revered by multiple prominent religions in Southeast Asia. Homosexuality, however, became legal in the country in 2017.