Disney+ scrubs ‘Simpsons’ episode in Hong Kong over Tiananmen Square joke

Disney+ users in Hong Kong have noticed that the an episode of “The Simpsons,” in which the cartoon family visits Tiananmen Square, was scrubbed from the streaming service.

The missing episode comes at a time when Chinese authorities are cracking down on dissent in Hong Kong, and it adds to concerns that China’s censorship is becoming the norm in the international business hub.

The 16th season of the iconic Fox animated show, which is on Disney+, skips from episode 11 to 13 for customers in Hong Kong. The missing episode 12, first broadcast in 2005, happens to be the one where Homer takes his family to China, where they visit Tiananmen Square, site of the deadly crackdown in 1989 against democracy protesters. In the cartoon, the family comes across a placard that reads: “On this site, in 1989, nothing happened,” a satirical reference to China’s campaign to purge memories of what happened.

It is not clear whether Disney+ removed the episode or if it was ordered by Chinese authorities. Neither Disney nor representatives for the Hong Kong or Chinese government returned requests for comment.