Disney Bows to Pressure from Communist China, Censors 'Simpsons' Episode Mocking Chinese Censorship in Hong Kong

Disney has removed an episode of “The Simpsons” that mocks Chinese censorship practices from its online streaming service in Hong Kong, adding to growing concerns that Western companies will start kowtowing to the Chinese Communist Party’s pressure tactics in the once-free territory.

The Hong Kong Free Press reported over the weekend that episode 12 of season 16, titled, “Goo Goo Gai Pan,” was not available on Disney Plus amid the streaming service’s rollout this month.

The episode, which was first broadcast in 2005, reportedly follows the fictional cartoon family on a trip to mainland China, where they pay visits to the mummified body of former Chairman Mao Zedong and Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.