Almost thirty years after it first aired in America, the series "Friends" is still immensely popular in China.

Chinese watch them to learn English, which is a fun notion, especially since the series is alive with punch lines about nipples, lollipops, and pregnancy tests.

However, access to such gags has not been easy in recent years, in 2013 the last episode of the series was officially broadcast.

After that, anyone who was interested in “Friends” had to resort to pirated copies.

Chinese streaming platforms have now made the series available again, one episode can be seen once a week.

However, the large community of followers soon noticed that the new version was missing someone right from the start.

It's about the dopey Ross Geller's (David Schwimmer) ex-wife, Carol (Jane Sibbett), who split from him after she realized she was a lesbian.

As the series progresses, Carol will marry her friend and give birth to a child she fathered with her ex, and Ross will come to terms with it well too.

Thousands of videos deleted

However, the lesbian ex-wife apparently does not comply with the guidelines of the Chinese censorship authorities.

Since 2016, the Chinese media authority has removed "vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content" from foreign films and series.

According to censorship standards, this also applies to people who smoke, have affairs or are homosexual.

In recent years, thousands upon thousands of videos and images have been removed from the internet on the grounds that they are obscenities.

Last year, the media outlet aired a garbled version of the special "Friends: Reunion," which removed all references to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender life of Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Monica in the world.

The censorship also canceled the appearances of Lady Gaga,

Justin Bieber and the Korean band BTS.

It was remembered: Lady Gaga had met the Dalai Lama.

Years ago, Justin Bieber published a photo of a shrine to war victims in Tokyo.

Both were banned from concerts in China.

In an interview, the boy band BTS spoke of a "history of suffering", but did not mean the Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War.

What is remarkable about this new case of state paternalism is how decisive the criticism from the viewers is.

The Chinese news service Weibo spoke of censorship millions of times over the weekend.

Users extensively condemned the attempt to make homosexuality invisible in such a clumsy way.

The complaints were also immediately censored, the hashtag "Friends censored" was replaced with the hashtag "Why is Friends so popular".

The number of American films shown in China has declined significantly in recent years.

Series like "The Big Bang Theory" have not been seen since 2014.

Streaming providers have had to submit their foreign purchases to the media authority since 2015.

"Friends" was apparently considered to be justifiable with some reservations.

The question remains as to what will become of surrogacy, various affairs and an illegitimate child in the next few episodes.