The Internet’s Freaking Out Over Disney Plus Censoring Cleavage Shot

Much has been written about streaming networks secretly censoring old movies and TV shows and hoping we don’t notice. Viewers recently caught a magazine cover missing from Netflix’s version of Back to the Future Part II though and Disney+ unconvincingly CGI’d some hair over Daryl Hannah’s butt in Splash!

Now, viewers have noticed another strange edit, this time to that ever-controversial hotbed of vice and immorality, Wizards of Waverly Place. The episode in question sees star Maria Canals-Barrera wearing a top that shows a centimeter or two of cleavage. Disney have no doubt concluded that this merest hint of a woman’s chest would irreversibly corrupt the show’s young female target audience and to protect them from the fact that women have breasts, they’ve put a blur over the offending area, which has the reverse effect of drawing your eye to the spot.

Here’s how it looks on Disney+ and how people are reacting to it online:

https://twitter.com/lovelychubly/status/1262357465448034305?s=20

https://twitter.com/thunderquacks/status/1264601283161456641

https://twitter.com/TravelingShinto/status/1264598450009780225?s=20

imagine disney hiring you as an editor and the first thing they tell you to do is put censors over women’s cleavage https://t.co/K8fWWEBxNS

— sam (@samthagawd) May 24, 2020

https://twitter.com/natsarmy/status/1264581297768402944

The morality police takes down another booby-bandit. Thank god Disney is here to save. Hildren from the horrors of network sitcom cleavage.

— *NotThePopularOpinion – Grey (Michael Schinke II) (@Only_Grey) May 24, 2020

Seriously @Disney @disneyplus Really Disney! Boobs Are A Thing! People are gonna see cleavage! Not A Big Deal, Even Kids See It, It’s not gonna corrupt them, it’s not like they are popping out #StopCensoring #Disney #DisneyPlus https://t.co/lROpvS8BoR

— Nema (@SuperNema108) May 24, 2020

https://twitter.com/bekoumovies/status/1264391235533524992

https://twitter.com/WDonut04/status/1264558191855251456

https://twitter.com/Kyte2227/status/1264563553521922052

I hope they start blurring everything,makes it look like y’all are watching porn on Disney+

— Sleep Deprived Jerry Chen @jerryasleep.bsky.social (@jerryasleep) May 24, 2020

https://twitter.com/Release_ZSJL/status/1264532028231467008?s=20

https://twitter.com/mheath182/status/1264525476200099840?s=20

I’m not an expert, but I’m positive making sure the smudging of the cleavage doesn’t blur the edge of the dress is one of an editor’s top priorities in terms of making sure viewers don’t notice the edit easily.

— 🕸Mohee🕸 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ (@moheekmagic) May 21, 2020

However, a twist in the tale came when one reply noted that this particular bit of censorship has been in place long before Disney+ launched. They posted a screen capture showing that the blurring was there from at least 2009, meaning that this particular bit of puritanism was imposed over a decade ago.

Crying @ this being from 09 just because it has the logo

My sister watched this show all the time and I’ve never noticed them do this lol. Like she been watching this for 10-12 years and I never saw this on there or any other show

— 🥛🧉 (@tittyslurp) May 24, 2020

The mind boggles why Disney would bother to edit an image of a perfectly normal-looking woman that no one sane would bat an eyelid at. Theories range from this being done in response to a specific complaint by an individual prude or perhaps to make the episode suitable for airing in countries with strict dress codes like Saudi Arabia.

Whatever the reason, if Disney wanted to stop people gawping at Maria Canals-Barrera’s boobs, then their efforts have backfired. And, as many replies on Twitter point out, I shudder to think what this means for characters like Scarlet Witch and She-Hulk.