China removes gay teen drama from the internet, sparking furious backlash

Chinese censors have sparked a furious backlash among internet users after seemingly removing a popular gay teen drama from broadcasting sites.

15-part web series Addicted revolves around four young gay high school students, and proved a hot after making its online debut in January. With only 12 episodes broadcast however, the series now cannot be found online, with searches turning up empty or returning only preview clips, the South China Morning Post reports.

The show’s removal three episodes short of the finale has understandably sparked anger among fans and viewers.

“Why did they take away this drama?” on internet user wrote on Chinese social networking site Weibo. “There are millions of reasons to cover their move, but the truth is that they are afraid of gay [issues].”

Another added: “I anticipated that it would be wiped out from the internet, but I still feel sad. When will our society become a multicultural and more tolerant one?”

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Addicted’s writer and producer, who goes by the pen name of Chai Ji Dan, said there was “no reason” for the show’s removal, and that the apparent censorship would not impact the shooting of the show’s second season, which will likely start in May.

“There’s no reason. It’s a result of the broader environment,” she told ifeng.com on Tuesday.

Public attitudes in China vary hugely towards homosexuality, which was only removed from the state’s official list of mental disorders in 2001.

While still a taboo subject across much of the mainland, younger generations are shown to be increasingly accepting, while the introduction of same-sex marriage in the United States last year and several very public declarations of gay love have sparked renewed conversations about the legal standing of China’s LGBT community.

Watch the trailer for Addicted below:

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