Films

Together pulled from Chinese cinemas after an “unauthorised” edit of a gay couple

By Jordan Robledo

26th September 2025

Together has been pulled from Chinese cinemas after a local distributor edited a gay couple into a heterosexual couple.

In July and August, moviegoers in the US, UK, and Europe were treated to the highly anticipated body horror film, starring real-life married actors Alison Brie (Community) and Franco (Now You See Me).

Written and directed by Michael Shanks, the film follows Tim (Franco) and Millie (Brie), a couple who “find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country, abandoning all that is familiar in their lives except each other.”

The official synopsis adds: “With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love and their flesh.”

While Together has received widespread acclaim – earning a 90% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes– it was subjected to anti-LGBTQIA+ censorship during its early release in China.

Last week, the film went viral on social media after viewers realised that a gay couple in the original release were changed into a straight couple using AI editing.

Additional reports also stated that some of Together’s sex scenes were removed from the release.

“The horror film “Together” featured a gay couple in a peripheral role (see below) that got magicked into a straight couple in the Chinese edition,” one X/Twitter user wrote alongside a screenshot of the two scenes.

“No spoilers, but this definitely makes the film make less sense. One nuance is that Chinese movies are not rated for age. Maybe if it were, the same-sex pairing would have survived.”

On Douban, the Chinese equivalent of IMDb, some viewers expressed concerns over the AI edits, with one person writing: “This is infringement, right?”

Another person added: “The evolution to using AI to directly swap faces is truly terrifying… In the future, we won’t even know we’re watching the original film.”

On 24 September, the film’s global distributor, Neon, released a statement to Deadline condemning Chinese distributor Hishow for implementing the anti-LGBTQIA+ changes.

“Neon does not approve of Hishow’s unauthorised edit of the film and have demanded they cease distributing this altered version,” the company wrote.

As of this writing, Hishow has not addressed the controversy and the film is no longer screening in China-based theaters.

Together isn’t the first piece of LGBTQIA+ inclusive media to face censorship in China.

In 2018, Chinese broadcaster Mango TV cut Ireland’s performance from the Eurovision semi-finals due to the inclusion of two same-sex dancers.

That same year, the release of Bohemian Rhapsody was edited to remove elements concerning Freddie Mercury’s sexuality.  

In 2021, the country’s top three streaming platforms – iQiyi, Tencent Video and Alibaba’s Youku – took out a segment from the Friends reunion that celebrated the show’s LGBTQIA+ fans.

Films like Alien: Covenant and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore have also faced censorship in China, with the majority of their queer content getting chopped.