The BBC is embroiled in a bizarre row about censorship, the royal family and drag queens after editing an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race to remove a joke about Prince Andrew.
The national broadcaster is currently showing episodes of the new series RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under on its iPlayer streaming service but edited out a comment made by a drag artist dressed as Queen Elizabeth II, apparently in the belief it could offend UK audiences.
Viewers of the original Australian broadcast saw performer Anita Wigl’it, dressed in full drag as the British monarch, ad-lib the comment: “I wish a dingo would have taken my baby, then I wouldn’t have anything to do with Prince Andrew any more.”
The BBC decided British viewers should not have to listen to the remark, made in a segment of the show where performers compete to make crude comments, and deleted it before the episode was broadcast in the UK.
A spokesperson for the BBC confirmed the change but did not elaborate on exactly why the comment was deemed inappropriate for British ears: “The BBC occasionally makes edits to acquired programmes in accordance with UK audience expectations.”
Prince Andrew has had a reduced public profile since his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview last year about his relationship with the deceased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, stepping back from all of his royal duties. The prince has repeatedly declined to travel to the US to discuss the case with American authorities but insists he has done…
