Spider-Man, the original film by Sam Raimi starring Tobey Maguire, has been making headlines as of Tuesday. The film started trending Tuesday because it seems the film has been edited over in the U.K., which has really upset some fans. The film was edited because one of the jokes early on in the film was considered to be homophobic, and while a vocal portion of fans has expressed their anger, more still are praising ITV for the edit, claiming nothing of value was lost. I can't say I'm surprised, and during my rewatch of the film, I've always thought that the joke in question wouldn't fly today. After all, when the movie came out in 2002 it was a far different time. Some things we could say back then just don't work today.

So, what's the joke in question?

Early on in the film, before Peter Parker has even become Spider-Man, he tries to make some money wrestling. He steps into the wrestling ring and during the fight backflips away. BoneSaw demands he come down, to which Peter replies “That’s a cute outfit. Did your husband give it to you?”. This line was considered unsuitable and homophobic, so ITV removed it from the film when they broadcast the film. Instead, Peter just says "That's a cute outfit" now.

ITV gave a statement to Variety where they stated “We carefully consider the suitability of content we broadcast and appropriateness of language used to ensure that it meets audience expectations, especially when intended for family viewing.”

Look, I understand the conversations going on about censorship, but maybe we can let this one slide? In an age where the LGBTQ community is still at risk, it might not be worth having those kinds of statements in our media. We still live in an age where companies find same-sex couples controversial and edit out their scenes if needed when they hardly get enough representation as it is. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness was just banned in Saudi Arabia because of a clip that lasted, like, 11 seconds because America Chavez mentions she has two moms. This is one of the rare instances where censorship was used for good, so I say we give ITV a pass.

If you still want to see the film with the line unedited take out your VHS or DVD copy of Spider-Man (2002) and give it a watch. Then come back and let me know how much it added to the movie.

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