Schitt's Creek star Dan Levy calls out Comedy Central India for censoring same-sex kiss

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Schitt’s Creek star and creator Dan Levy tweeted a scathing admonition of a clip posted on Comedy Central India’s Twitter that censored a same-sex kiss.

As a show, Schitt’s Creek has frequently drawn praise for its positive portrayal of LGBTQ relationships. David’s pansexuality is readily accepted by the Rose family, becoming a core part of his character without being a token plot point or the butt of jokes.

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Schitt's Creek star Dan Levy calls out Comedy Central India for censoring same-sex kiss Back to video

“This is a show about the power of inclusivity,” said Levy. “The censorship of gay intimacy is making a harmful statement against that message.”

Levy, an “out and proud gay”, has often been a spokesperson for the LGBTQ community. In 2019, he was given an award by GLAAD, a media advocacy group, for his efforts in promoting LGBTQ acceptance.

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The kiss, between Levy and his male co-star, is cut out of the three minute clip, which takes place during a house party and a game of spin-the-bottle. In the scene, the game leads to a close-up of Levy’s character, David Rose, and Dustin Milligan‘s character, Ted, kissing on the lips. The same scene clearly displays kisses between female co-stars Annie Murphy (Alexis Rose) and Emily Hampshire (Stevie Budd) and between Milligan and Murphy — but when it comes time for the two men to kiss, the clip skips ahead.

“You showed the kiss between two women, you showed the kiss between a woman and a man, then removed the kiss between two men?” tweeted Levy.

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As Comedy Central began to take flak in the comments, Levy was quick to jump in and clarify that it was Comedy Central India that had censored the clip, whereas Comedy Central in the U.S. “have been lovely and respectful.”

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Although the Comedy Central India tweet comes from March 19, 2019, Levy retweeted yesterday to make his thoughts on the matter clear.

As a country, India lags behind in LGBTQ rights. India does not yet recognize the right to same-sex marriage.

Other cases of media censorship in India were brought up by Deadline, who pointed at the censoring of the images of Indian goddesses Lakshmi and Kali in the 2015 film Angry Indian Goddesses. Another instance of censorship included pulling out curse words and the phrase “Indian figure”.