People are worried about Disney censoring 'Hamilton' when it comes to Disney Plus this July
- Disney announced on May 12 that the "Hamilton" movie, previously slated for a 2021 theatrical release, would hit Disney Plus on July 3.
- People online are questioning whether Disney will censor the show for its streaming platform; "Hamilton" includes explicit language as well as sexual themes and gun violence.
- Disney has previously censored movies like the 1984 film "Splash" by covering up instances of partial nudity, and also has moved shows with mature themes like the "Love, Simon" spin-off to Hulu.
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Disney announced on May 12 that Broadway sensation "Hamilton" will hit Disney Plus this summer on July 3, over a year in advance of the movie's planned theatrical release date of October 15, 2021. The film, which is professional recording of the stage production edited together from three performances of the show in 2016, features the original cast including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Renée Elise Goldsberry.
The production, which debuted in 2015, follows the life of Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Not only did the show win the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama, it also picked up 11 Tony Awards including best musical and direction of a musical. The show is best known for its rap and hip-hop style, which sees depictions of historical figures like Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr engaging in rap battles or dancing their way through the birth of the United States.
Following the announcement, however, people online worried that "Hamilton" would arrive on the streaming platform with some changes to some of its language or content. The show features several instances of explicit language as well as sexual themes and gun violence.
This isn't the first time that censorship has come up in reference to "Hamilton's" Disney deal. The show features several swear words that would jeopardize a PG-13 rating, although it does censor the f-word in songs like "Say No To This" and "The Adams Administration." Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter at The New York Times, tweeted in February 2020 that he had asked Lin-Manuel Miranda about potential censorship of swear words.
At the time, the writer told Buchanan that there were no plans to cut out sections of the show, reportedly saying, "If we have to mute a word here or there to reach the largest audience possible, I'm OK with that, because your kids already have the original language memorized. I don't think we're depriving anyone of anything if we mute an f-bomb here or there to make our rating."
Disney Plus is committed to providing family-friendly content and has historically shuttled more mature programs over to Hulu, which Disney also owns, or censored them on the platform. The company moved a "Love, Simon" spinoff series from Disney Plus to Hulu recently — sources told Variety that Disney felt that certain facets of the show like alcohol use and sexual exploration would preclude it from fitting in with Disney Plus' family-friendly fare (the original Love, Simon story is one of queer romance). Disney has also censored content on Disney Plus, including a post-credits scene in "Toy Story 2" and a partially bare butt in the 1984 movie "Splash."
That being said, it's currently unclear as to whether Disney has any plans to censor language or content in "Hamilton." That didn't stop people from taking to Twitter to plead for Disney to not censor.
Others imagined what "Hamilton" would be like if key words or plot elements were made more family-friendly.
Insider has reached out to Disney for comment as to whether it will censor "Hamilton" on Disney Plus.
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