Before Sam Raimi was set to direct Doctor Strange 2, he released a pre-MCU Spider-Man way back in 2002, which is over two decades old at this point because that’s how math works. While the movie is still the best Spider-Man, not all of the jokes hold up! As expected, things that were considered “fine” in 2002, actually weren’t.
In the original movie, there is a slightly homophobic joke in which teenage Peter Parker (played by 27-year-old Tobey Maguire) tries to be witty with an opponent. Peter quips, “That’s a cute outfit. Did your husband give it to you?” before attempting to defeat him. Over the weekend, that line was removed from a broadcast on the British network ITV. Instead, Peter just says “That’s a cute outfit.” Which is a nice thing to say to someone before beating them up.
In a statement to Variety, ITV said, “We carefully consider the suitability of content we broadcast and appropriateness of language used to ensure that it meets audience expectations, especially when intended for family viewing.”
Though it was a small edit, the fact that some networks are doing this in a positive way might be a good thing. Disney has been famously editing out things they see as “controversial” like same-sex kisses or references to queer people at all, and quietly refusing to take a stance on homophobic bills. Other countries have been known to cut out characters altogether. To edit out a joke that could be offensive is a small step in the right direction!
