BEIJING: Moviegoers in China say key scenes about singer Freddie Mercury's sexuality have been either muted or cut from the film Bohemian Rhapsody.

"The cut scenes really affect the movie,'' said Peng Yanzi, a Chinese LGBT rights activist. "The film talks about how (Mercury) became himself, and his sexuality is an important part of becoming who he was.''

Scenes that were deleted include one in which Mercury reveals to his then-wife that he is not heterosexual. In the part of the film where Mercury tells the band that he has Aids, the dialogue goes silent.

"It's a pity'' the scenes were removed, said Hua Zile, chief editor of VCLGBT, an LGBT-themed account with more than a million followers on Weibo, one of China's top social media platforms.

"This kind of deletion weakens his gay identity. It's a bit disrespectful to his real experience and makes the character superficial,'' Hua said. 

While LGBT content is generally less taboo than other topics that Chinese authorities deem sensitive, same-sex relationships are still virtually absent from mainstream media.

In 2017, a government-affiliated internet TV association warned streaming content providers against depicting homosexuality, labeling it an "abnormal'' sexual behavior.