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 Entertainment | August 2006 
Banning Britney and Paris
 Sarah Hall - Eonline
| | Britney Spears, six months pregnant, is shown on the cover of the August 2006 issue Harper's Bazaar magazine in this photograph released by Harper's Bazaar June 28, 2006. (Reuters/Alexi Lubomirski) |
What do Britney Spears and Paris Hilton have in common? Besides fame, fortune and eponymous albums, both stars have been censored overseas.
The ban on Spears was put into effect in Tokyo, where the subway system refused to allow the publishers of Harper's Bazaar to display a poster advertising the singer's nude and pregnant photo spread, which will appear on the October cover of the magazine's Japanese edition.
The photo in question showed Spears posing in the buff, but with her arms over her breasts and her legs crossed at the knees. The publishers had hoped to post it in a station in a trendy area of Tokyo, but were denied permission.
"We thought some of our customers would find it to be overly stimulating," a Tokyo Metro official explained to Reuters.
Instead, Spears will be exposed to Japanese commuters only from the collarbone up. Below that point, the poster will be covered by a statement reading, "We apologize for hiding part of a beautiful image of a mother-to-be."
It's not the first time the pop star has issues with censorship abroad. In 2004, she was granted permission to tour in China only after agreeing to have her concert attire pre-approved by officials to ensure she didn't perform in anything too revealing.
Hilton, on the other hand, ran into problems in India, where the budding pop star's video for her first single, "Stars Are Blind," was blocked by censors due to concerns that it contained sexual connotations.
The country's Central Board of Film Certification issued an Adult certification for the video, meaning it can not be broadcast on any station. An official for Hilton's local label, EMI Virgin India Ltd., said the board even refused to accept a toned-down copy of the video.
"In fact, we had edited the video and sent a fresh copy, but they weren't happy with that," label rep Narendra Kusnur told the Hollywood Reporter.
Instead, Hilton's video will be streamed on a promotional Website belonging to the shampoo company that backed her album's marketing campaign.
"To the best of our knowledge, there are no rules yet regarding censorship on the 'Net so we plan to use the online platform to generate buzz," EMI Virgin marketing manager Kaveri Khullar told the Hollywood Reporter.
Like Spears, Hilton has been criticized in the past for being overly racy. In 2005, the Parents Television Council launched an offensive against a Carl's Jr. ad in which the leggy heiress washed a car wearing only a skimpy bathing suit and stilettos, calling it "soft-core porn."
All the criticism seems to have taken its toll on Hilton's personal life. The Simple Life star recently announced her decision to swear off sex for at least a year, claiming she'll "kiss, but nothing else."
We think the censors would approve.
Spears Poses Nude for Magazine
Reuters
A six-month pregnant Britney Spears has posed nude for the cover of the August issue of Harper's Bazaar magazine and an accompanying photo spread inside, much in the style of the famous 1991 Vanity Fair cover of a naked and heavily pregnant Demi Moore.
On the Harper's Bazaar cover, a dark-haired Spears covers her breasts with her arms and crosses her legs at the knee, as she sits smiling into the camera.
Harper's said pop singer Spears "was never more beautiful" than when it photographed her a week ago and that it was the first time it had printed a nude photo on its cover.
The magazine added, "Since word leaked out about the shoot on Monday, people have been desperate to get their hands on the exclusive photos which were posted on various Web sites without permission from the magazine."
The former teen idol whose hit songs include "Oops, I Did It Again," Spears has frequently complained that she is hounded by paparazzi and earlier this month appealed to them to leave her alone. She also recently came under criticism for driving with her baby on her lap while fleeing a photographer.
In an interview with NBC "Today" show host Matt Lauer, she tearfully admitted to being "an emotional wreck," and defended husband Kevin Federline from sniping in tabloids. |
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