KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Gay Asians voiced indignation Wednesday after television broadcasts of the Academy Awards in their region censored the words "gay" and "lesbian" in speeches that called for equal rights for homosexuals.
The speeches by actor Sean Penn and writer Dustin Lance Black — who won Oscars for their work in "Milk" — were shown in full during live broadcasts of the Oscars that were screened across Asia on Monday morning.
But viewers who caught recorded telecasts in the evening on STAR, an Asian satellite TV service that says it reaches more than 300 million viewers in 53 countries, noticed that the sound was removed whenever both men mentioned "gay" or "lesbian."
"As a gay man, I am truly offended," Pang Khee Teik, a prominent Malaysian arts commentator, wrote in a letter sent out to several media organizations. "Stop censoring the words that describe who I am."
Pang said the move "sent a message ... that gays and lesbians are still shameful things to be censored from the public's ears."
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