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| 5 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
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| 11 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1313430659000386000 |
| 12 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
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| 14 | [[quoteright:309:[[Series/ShitMyDadSays https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1smds_7693.jpg]]]] |
| 15 | [[caption-width-right:309:Fittingly, the show was also [expletive deleted].]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | |
| 18 | ->''"It's the [bleep] Van [bleep] show, starring [bleep] Van [bleep]!"'' |
| 19 | -->-- Intro for ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'' within the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS4E14PTV PTV]]" |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Sometimes creators use VulgarHumor, and the MoralGuardians just cannot let anyone say that word. Not here where everyone can see it. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | So what to do? The creator can't just change everything. The movie is done, all the dialogue has been recorded, or the song is in the mixing process. At this point, there's just one thing you can do: censor the title. Don't advertise using the word "shit" -- say "crap" or "stuff", depending on how you mean the word. Use [[FunWithAcronyms acronyms]], [[SymbolSwearing symbols]] or anything else to cover up the real title. Sure, the work itself is still as offensive as it was before, you just need to pay a little more attention to realize that. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | This trope is when the title of a work is censored so that it can be advertised. As noted above, there can be various reasons for this, either creator decides to use the title or executives or distributors refuse to use the uncensored title. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Note that this only applies to the title being censored while the rest of the work isn't changed. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | Not to be confused with {{Bowdleri|se}}zation, as the work only seems less offensive on the surface. Related to GoshDangItToHeck and SoundEffectBleep. May overlap with LuckyCharmsTitle. Sometimes used when the creator is trying for an IntentionallyAwkwardTitle and the [[ExecutiveMeddling executives say no]]. See also ScunthorpeProblem. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | It goes without saying that the list that follows includes language that may be NSFW. |
| 32 | ---- |
| 33 | !! Examples: |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 36 | |
| 37 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 38 | * ''[[Manga/OPartsHunter 666 Satan]]'' became "''O-Parts Hunter''" (a mistranslation of "[=OOPArts=]") in America, as the country's sizeable Christian population wouldn't tolerate something so Satanic for children. |
| 39 | * ''Mato Seihei no Slave'', which translates to "Slave of the Magic Capital's Elite Troops", was published in America as ''"Manga/ChainedSoldier"'' to avoid the word "slave" on the title despite the story being that heavy on master-slave relationships between the [[AmazonBrigade female super soldier cast]] and the male protagonist. |
| 40 | * In a similar case to the ''WesternAnimation/SheZow'' example below, in the Italian dub of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' episode 6's title is indicated as "La Furia di un Nerd" ("A Nerd's Rage") in TV guide listings and in the next episode preview at the end of episode 5, but the actual title appearing on screen is "Infuriati, Nerd di Merda!" ("Enrage, you Shitty Nerd!") |
| 41 | [[/folder]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 44 | * The horror graphic novel ''ComicBook/DraculaMotherfucker''. |
| 45 | * The ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'' side-story starring Arseface was titled "The Story of You-Know-Who". |
| 46 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' pulled this off with its "This man, this EXPLETIVE DELETED!" [[DontExplainTheJoke (it's "asshole")]] storyline. Unsurprisingly, given [[ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} who was his co-star.]] |
| 47 | * ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'' has a variety of creative ways to mention strips with sweary titles on the front page, such as {{Spoonerism}}, other creative misspellings, and even in a couple of cases CensorSteam. |
| 48 | [[/folder]] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 51 | * The sixth ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine'' treasury is titled ''Pearls Freaks The #%*# Out''. |
| 52 | [[/folder]] |
| 53 | |
| 54 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 55 | * The ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' mod ''Vs. Fuckboy'' had its soundtrack's [=YouTube=] uploads censored to ''Vs. FB'' when the tracks were mistakenly age-restricted due to the title. The mod itself, as well as the logos that appear on the track uploads, are fully uncensored. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Film -- Animation]] |
| 59 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' was originally titled "South Park: All Hell Breaks Loose" before the MPAA demanded it be changed. It may the only example of a censored title being ''more'' suggestive. |
| 60 | ** On the back cover of the soundtrack album, "Uncle Fucka" is censored as "Uncle F**ka". Averted in the closing credits of the film itself. |
| 61 | [[/folder]] |
| 62 | |
| 63 | [[folder:Film -- Live-Action]] |
| 64 | * The second ''Film/AustinPowers'' film was advertised as ''The Spy Who...'' on most poster sites, leaving off the "Shagged Me" from the end of the title. In some countries, it was simply named "Austin Powers 2". Averted (possibly ''inverted'' depending on your point of view) by the Norwegians, who called it ''The Spy Who Spermed Me''. |
| 65 | * ''Film/TheBestLittleWhorehouseInTexas'' saw its title changed in promotions to ''The Best Little Cathouse in Texas'' in some areas, and televised trailers usually had the offending word [[SoundEffectBleep bleeped.]] |
| 66 | * The 2010 BMovie spoof ''Film/BitchSlap'' is carried at some stores as just ''Slap'' (with a sticker covering the offending word). |
| 67 | * To avoid complaints (and the restriction of ads to nighttime), the title of ''A Couple of Dicks'' was changed to ''Film/CopOut''. |
| 68 | * In Barbados the newspaper ads for ''Film/DoctorDetroit'' changed "He's got five personalities. And they've all got a one-track mind" to "He's got five lovely women. (Etc)." ''Film/TheBestLittleWhorehouseInTexas'', meanwhile, was advertised with "Whore" cut out (literally) and "Fun" stuck in instead. |
| 69 | * ''Film/TheFWord'' was renamed "What If" when released in the United States. And it's not even ''that'' F word. |
| 70 | * ''Film/TheHairyBird'' was released as ''All I Wanna Do'' in the U.S., and as ''Strike!'' in Canada and the U.K., as its distributor Creator/{{Miramax}} found the original title too offensive [[note]]as it alludes to male genitalia[[/note]]. Australia is the only territory where the film was released as ''The Hairy Bird''. |
| 71 | * ''Film/HollywoodChainsawHookers:'' The British Board of Film Classification used to have a problem with the word "chainsaw," so the British VHS release had "Hollywood (picture of a chainsaw) Hookers" on the box. |
| 72 | * Mario Van Peebles made a movie dramatizing the making of his father's movie ''Film/SweetSweetbacksBaadasssssSong'' titled ''How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass''. It became more commonly known as ''Baadasssss!'' |
| 73 | * TV ads for ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' (at least in the UK before the Watershed) just called it ''Inglourious''. Some of them, mysteriously, showed the full title onscreen while the voiceover announced the censored version. Maybe the rules about written swearwords are different...or possibly because it's spelled differently. |
| 74 | * Some posters and ticket counters for ''Film/KickAss'' called the movie "Kick-A* $" or "Kick-Butt". |
| 75 | * Occurred with the [=DVDs=] of ''Film/KnockedUp'', in which the "ed Up" part was covered by a huge, orange sticker listing the price at a UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}}. |
| 76 | * ''Film/MeetTheFockers'' had parts of the last word replaced by asterisks in some published reviews because it sounds too close to "fucker". Note that they were only able to get that title by proving that there is a real family with the last name Focker. |
| 77 | * The Film/JamesBond film ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' has occasionally been advertised as ''Octocat'', even though the "pussy" in this context does '''not''' refer to a cat. |
| 78 | * ''Film/ThePopeMustDie'', in which Robbie Coltrane plays a chubby priest accidentally raised to the papacy (who faces an assassination plot as a result). In some markets, retitled ''The Pope Must Diet!'' - which, one might argue, is even ''more'' offensive, as now the title goes from trying to kill the Pope to implying that he's fat. |
| 79 | * In at least one newspaper, the review and listings for ''Film/PootieTang'' referred to it as ''P.T.'', with a note explaining that the full title was an instance of "[[UnusualEuphemism street slang]]." |
| 80 | * In the U.S., most newspaper ads for the 1987 British film ''Film/{{Sammy and Rosie Get Laid}}'' often had the last two words deleted in, as did their film listings. |
| 81 | * The Mexican movie ''[[Franchise/ElSantos El Santos contra La Tetona Mendoza]]'' had to be censored since Tetona is spanish slang for Big Tits. The movie poster had a black box over the word with "Voluptuosa" (voluptuous) written on instead. |
| 82 | * ''Fucking Åmål'' was released under various alternate titles, in the USA as ''Film/ShowMeLove''. |
| 83 | * ''S.F.W.'', a movie from The Nineties featuring Stephen Dorff and Reese Witherspoon, is normally known by its acronym. The full title is ''Film/SoFuckingWhat''. |
| 84 | * Gregg Araki's early independent movie ''Totally F***ed Up''. |
| 85 | * Some of the sequels to ''Film/ViolentShit'' display the title as ''VS#''. |
| 86 | * ''Film/WhatTheBleepDoWeKnow'', with the SymbolSwearing part being pronounced "bleep" while meaning "fuck". |
| 87 | * The Ken Russell film ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103253/ Whore]]'', aka ''[[http://1.fwcdn.pl/po/47/48/104748/7121463.3.jpg If You Can't Say It, Just See It]]'' in video release. |
| 88 | * The documentary ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0487092/ "Who The #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?"]]'' is referred to as such on the case and title card, but when the title quote is said in the film, it is not censored. |
| 89 | * The documentary "Wreckage and Rape: The Making of ''Film/{{Alien 3}}''" first had the former part of the title cut out (it was the only of the four movies breaking the format "_____: The Making of Alien ___") for the DVD release on ''Alien Quadrilogy'', and when in the ''Alien Anthology'' Blu-Ray was "Wreckage and Ra'''g'''e". Presumably "Wreckage and Rape" ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtUUxu0QiyM taken from the film's soundtrack]]) naming the behind-the-scenes to a TroubledProduction filled with ExecutiveMeddling felt as a TakeThat for Fox, who even demanded various changes in the ''Quadrilogy'' version to remove parts where things painted a too unflattering image of the studio (thankfully, they allowed the original cut to appear on ''Anthology''). |
| 90 | * The movie ''Film/YoungPeopleFucking'' is usually referred to as ''[=YPF=]'' and the DVD box censors part of the third word. |
| 91 | * ''Film/ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno'' was often listed as simply ''Zack and Miri'', and one poster didn't have the title at all, containing just [[StylisticSuck stick figures]] and the caption "[[LampshadeHanging Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks made a movie so titillating that we can only show you this drawing]]". |
| 92 | [[/folder]] |
| 93 | |
| 94 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 95 | * Agatha Christie's ''Ten Little Niggers'' had its title censored twice, being released as first ''Ten Little Indians'' then ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone''. |
| 96 | * ''Literature/GoTheFuckToSleep'': Either the "Fuck" is censored with a lighting effect meant to look like the moon, or the title is changed to ''Seriously, Go to Sleep''. |
| 97 | ** ''Seriously, Go to Sleep'' became the title of the censored version of the book that was written because it became so popular. The censored version had all instances of "Fuck" changed to "Seriously" so that parents could read the book to their kids. |
| 98 | * Rob Boffard (under the pseudonym "Jackson Ford") has written a series of science fiction novels with "shit" (styled as "sh*t") in their titles, e.g., ''The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind,'' ''Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air,'' &c. |
| 99 | * John Cooper Clarke has a poem called "The Title Appears at the End of Each Subsequent Verse with Monotonous Regularity." Each verse ends with "Some cunt used the n-word." |
| 100 | [[/folder]] |
| 101 | |
| 102 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 103 | * The TV adaptation of the Website/{{Twitter}} account ''Series/ShitMyDadSays'' used SymbolSwearing characters. It is usually referred to out loud as "Bleep My Dad Says''. Which caused a lot of problems for people trying to program their [=DVR=]s for it (while that can't be blamed for its cancellation after one season, it certainly didn't help). |
| 104 | * The TV adaptation of the book ''Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea'' had its title shortened to ''Series/AreYouThereChelsea'' This one's particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} because a) "vodka" isn't profanity (though the edit could have been done to appease censors who think that mentioning alcoholic beverages could encourage younger viewers to drink or be considered insensitive to recovering alcoholics) and b) ''it completely changes the title's intended meaning'', considering the premiere episode starts with the main character in jail for DUI. |
| 105 | * ''Series/BreakingBad'' censored one of its episode titles: [=S3E3=], "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E3IFT I.F.T.]]". Crossing over with SpoilerTitle, it's not clear what the title means, or even that it's censorship at all, until the very end when [[WhamLine Skyler says]], "[[spoiler:I fucked Ted.]]" |
| 106 | * Commercials for ''[[Series/DontTrustTheBInApartment23 Don't Trust The B— In Apt. 23]]'' have "B—" [[SublimeRhyme pronounced as just the letter b.]] It was originally pitched with the word bitch in it. |
| 107 | * ''Series/TheEndOfTheFuckingWorld'' uses "F***ing" in its title though the comic book that it is based on doesn't feel need to censor its title. |
| 108 | * The fourth episode of ''Series/GameOfThrones'', ''Recap/GameOfThronesS1E4CripplesBastardsAndBrokenThings'', was edited on UK's Sky EPG as "...And Broken Things." Editing "bastard" is understandable (especially in the UK) as it is a curse word. "Cripples," however, isn't offensive... except in this case, where it's used as a derogatory term for someone who is handicapped or otherwise not able-bodied. As with most modern TV series, ''[=GoT=]'' does not actually display episode titles on screen anyway. |
| 109 | * ''Series/{{GCB}}'' was based on the book ''Good Christian Bitches'' and was changed to ''Good Christian Belles'' before becoming ''GCB''. Even so, some still find the title of the show offensive. |
| 110 | * British EPG listings for ''Series/GossipGirl'''s "The Blair Bitch Project" and no less than three episodes of ''Series/{{Ringer}}'' - "A Whole New Kind Of Bitch," "If You're Just An Evil Bitch, Then Get Over It" and "It's Called Improvising, Bitch!" - had "bitch" blanked out. |
| 111 | * ''Series/TheGrandTour'''s eleventh episode is literally titled "[censored] to [censored]". For those wondering, it's about a trip from [[spoiler:Wank, Germany]] to [[spoiler:Fucking, Austria]]. |
| 112 | * Netflix original comedy/documentary series ''Series/{{The History of Swear Words}}'' uses one word episode titles consisting of just the particular curse word being discussed - only "Bitch" and "Damn" were apparently tame enough to be listed on Netflix itself without asterisks replacing some of the letters. |
| 113 | * ''Series/KevinCanFuckHimself''. The season 1 poster depicts main character Allison [=McRobert=] standing in front of a needlepoint bearing the show's title, blocking the missing letters. Promotional materials had the actors uttering the title uncensored and bleeped the censored word, while the pilot's opening titles depicted all the letters of the word by alternating them. Arguably nodded to in the show itself when Allison curses with "[[GoshDangItToHeck Mother eff!]]" |
| 114 | -->'''Patty:''' [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Just swear. "Eff" is so much worse]]. |
| 115 | * ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' had a season three episode where a fishing trip between the Bundys and the Rhoades (Steve and Marcy) goes to pot when Kelly has her period, and soon Marcy and Peg have it as it is physically possible for women's periods to sync up so that way they all have it at the same time. Originally, the episode was called "A Period Piece," but FOX censors objected (never mind that the show never showed its titles onscreen and it wouldn't be until the rise of the Internet and cable that viewers would get to see episode titles of their favorite shows), and the show creators retitled it, "The Camping Show." |
| 116 | * ''Series/PennAndTellerBullshit'' - the [=DVDs=] say "Bullsh*t", or sometimes just "BS". |
| 117 | ** When Penn had his own (FCC-regulated broadcast) radio show, he would often discuss the show, which he would refer to as "Bulls..." [beat] [beat] "...HIT!" |
| 118 | ** Furthermore, whenever the show is listed on-screen, it appears as "Bulls...", or "Bull!", or "BS!" or even just "Penn & Teller", depending on the provider. |
| 119 | * ''Series/PValley'', a drama focusing on the lives of strip club employees, is short for ''Pussy Valley'', the play that the show is based on. |
| 120 | * [[{{Watershed}} Pre-watershed]] trailers for ''Series/{{The Secret Diary of a Call Girl}}'' simply referred to it as "Secret Diary". |
| 121 | * ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' has the episode "The Fuck Buddy", referred to in local syndication and on basic cable networks as "The Sex Buddy". |
| 122 | * ''Series/{{Veep}}'' has an episode titled [[CountryMatters "C*ntgate"]] |
| 123 | * In a case where the censoring is due to a SpoilerTitle instead of cursing, ''Series/WandaVision'' has in the Episode 7 credits a song listed as "It Was ______ All Along" (its retail version is "[[spoiler:Agatha]] All Along"). |
| 124 | [[/folder]] |
| 125 | |
| 126 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 127 | * Music/AnalCunt is normally written as "A.C." on their album covers, although the band's logo makes it clear what those letters stand for. |
| 128 | * The Canadian rock group Music/BarenakedLadies is occasionally referred to as simply BNL in places where MoralGuardians might complain. Emphasis on the "occasionally"--they once hosted a Creator/KidsWB Saturday morning cartoon block with their normal name (with characters such as the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' commenting on how [[LampshadeHanging they're all fully-clothed men]]), but they've been censored on the Creator/DisneyChannel and elsewhere. They ran into this piecemeal in different areas - "The Ballad of Gordon" was a PSA they did early in their career that aired on Creator/FoxKids, but the title card saying the name of the band wasn't run in all markets. Music/WeirdAlYankovic revealed in interviews that he had a considerable fight with Creator/{{CBS}} to call the band by their full name when they were on ''Series/TheWeirdAlShow'', and there was concern they'd be censored piecemeal as well. |
| 129 | * Music/TheBeautifulSouth charted with a song called "Don't Marry Her". The version released as a single had the lyric "Don't marry her - have me". Unwary DJ's who played the ''album'' version, however, broadcast the uncensored original lyric "Don't marry her - fuck me!" to the nation. People who thought the LP would carry the same version as the airplay single were in for a surprise as it wasn't indicated ''anywhere'' that the lyrics were somewhat different. |
| 130 | * On the album ''[[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience]]'', Jackyl's song "Mental Masturbation" was renamed as "Mental *@%#!" on the back of the CD. |
| 131 | * Music/{{Beck|Musician}}'s debut album, ''Music/MellowGold'', featured two songs with strong language in the titles. On the censored version of the album, the songs in question are listed as "%*!@?# With My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)" and "&*$^?#%*@!#" and even the version with the parental advisory censors them to "F _ _ _ in' With My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)" and "Mutherf _ _ er." |
| 132 | * The Music/BlackEyedPeas: |
| 133 | ** "Don't Phunk With My Heart" is replaced with "Don't Mess With My Heart" on some radio stations because "phunk" sounds too much like "fuck". Or in some cases, dropping the word altogether and replacing it with a drumbeat. In some areas with multiple radio stations, this was especially obvious, because one station would play the edited "Don't Mess With My Heart", another would play the uncensored "Don't Phunk With My Heart", and a third would play "Don't _____ With My Heart", which just sounded really stupid when the edited version was ''obviously'' available. |
| 134 | ** The original title of "Let's Get It Started" was "Let's Get Retarded". |
| 135 | * In some markets, [=MTV=] credits Music/{{Blink 182}}'s ''Take Off Your Pants and Jacket'' as ''Take Off Your Jacket and Pants'' during their music videos to avoid the masturbation pun. |
| 136 | * The Music/BloodhoundGang album ''Hooray for Boobies'' was sold in some stores as simply ''Hooray''. |
| 137 | * The "clean" version of Music/ButtholeSurfers' ''Electric Larryland'' goes so far as to credit the band as "B***h*** Surfers" on the cover. Similarly, in certain parts of the country, the band would advertise themselves as "BH Surfers". |
| 138 | * The radio edit of "Purple Pills" by D12 is called "Purple Hills", with many of its lyrics altered to remove drug and sex references, dramatically changing the song. |
| 139 | * "Die MF Die" by Dope. Take a guess at what MF is shortened from. |
| 140 | * Eamon's best-known song "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)" was named "F**k It" on the single sleeve. Its reply single by Frankee was named "FURB (F U Right Back)". |
| 141 | * The radio version of "Shit on the Radio" by Music/NellyFurtado was simply titled "...On the Radio" and was also listed under this title on the back of her ''Whoa, Nelly!'' album. However, the album insert lists it under its uncensored title. |
| 142 | * Some Music/GGAllin album and song titles were censored for retail stores. ''Eat My Fuc'' became ''E.M.F.'' and the original album art (a crude drawing of a penis; GG claimed he traced his own member for the cover) was changed to a photo of GG. |
| 143 | ** ''Hated in the Nation'' had the majority of the song titles censored. This was usually done by using abbreviations (e.g., "Drink, Fight, and Fuck" became "D F & F") or dropping the offending word or phrase, such as "I Wanna Fuck Myself" being listed as "Myself." However, two songs' censored names strayed from this formula: |
| 144 | *** "Eat My Diarrhea" was awkwardly renamed to "Eat My Leftovers." |
| 145 | *** "Ass-Fuckin' Butt Suckin' Cunt Lickin' Masturbation" became the more sophisticated "Multiple Forms of Self-Satisfaction." |
| 146 | * Brazilian punk band Garotos Podres has "Papai Noel, Filho da Puta" (Santa Claus, son of a bitch).[[note]]In which they kidnap and kill Santa Claus as punishment for only giving gifts to rich kids.[[/note]] The offensive bit had to be changed into the similar-sounding slang "Velho Batuta" (cool old man), but it's usually performed with the full cursing. |
| 147 | * Music/GIdle: "Nxde" has a censored title to tie into its themes about nudity being seen as obscene. At the end of the music video, the word "Nude" appears in white, then it changes to red and the u is replaced with an x. |
| 148 | * Music/{{Gravediggaz}}' album ''6 Feet Deep'' was originally called ''Niggamortis''. |
| 149 | * The music video for Music/CeeLoGreen's "Fuck You!" opens up with a title card spelling out "F**k You!". The censored version replaces it with "Forget You!". When the song was nominated for a Grammy, it was officially listed as "The Song Also Known as 'Forget You'." |
| 150 | * Music/GreenDay's live album, ''Awesome as F**k''. The song "Fuck Time" is listed in ''¡Dos!'' with a black bar covering all of the first word except "F". Also, their album ''Father of All Motherfuckers'' is referred on stores, review sites and the like as ''Father of All...''. |
| 151 | * The clean edit of "Sexy Bitch" by Music/DavidGuetta ft. Music/{{Akon}} is called "Sexy Chick". |
| 152 | * The Hombres' single "Let It All Hang Out" was also released under the title "Let It Out" - apparently the label thought the original title could be construed as a reference to nudity. |
| 153 | * Music/IceT's breakthrough hit was known on CD cases as "Girls, LGBNAFT" but listeners called it "Let's Get Butt Naked and Fuck Tonight", like Mr. Morrow said in the chorus. |
| 154 | * The Music/{{Korn}} song "K@#0%!", probably since no printable title could be drawn from the lyrics. |
| 155 | * Music/MirandaLambert's ''Platinum'' has "Old Sh!t" and "Gravity Is a B**ch." |
| 156 | * Some copies of The Lemonheads' ''It's A Shame About Ray'' list "My Drug Buddy" as just "Buddy". The lyrics remain uncensored, though. |
| 157 | * Music/LimpBizkit's collaboration with Method Man was originally called "Shut The Fuck Up." It was changed to "N 2 Gether Now" for marketing purposes. |
| 158 | * The song "I'm in Miami, Bitch" by Music/{{LMFAO}} is called "I'm in Miami, Trick" (and also censored in the same way in the song, in versions which are censored). |
| 159 | * Local H's "High Fivin' MF". It should be pretty obvious what the title really should be. |
| 160 | * The Music/ManWithAMission's song "Never Fucking Mind The Rules" has been officially released as "Never Fxxkin' Mind The Rules". |
| 161 | * Music/MarilynManson's "This Is The New Shit" became "This Is The New *hit" when censored, which is, ironically, still fitting. "Pretty As A Swastika" became "Pretty As A $" which is likely the biggest "Fuck you" done via censorship ever. |
| 162 | * "Randy Scouse Git" by Music/TheMonkees was aptly called "Alternate Title" when the song was released in the United Kingdom, after the record company insisted that Dolenz [[LiteralistSnarking give the song an alternate title]]. Micky Dolenz, who wrote the song, heard the phrase on the TV show, '''Til Death Do Us Part,'' and hadn't realized that "Randy Scouse Git" in Britain, [[DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch is slang for "Horny Idiot from Liverpool.]]" (It [[NonAppearingTitle doesn't appear in the lyrics]] either way.) |
| 163 | * When Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister started a band named "Bastard", it was pointed out to him that he wouldn't get on ''Top of the Pops'' with a band named "Bastard", so he went with a semi-covert drug reference instead--Music/{{Motorhead}}, which is a slang term for a speed freak. |
| 164 | * Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" was originally titled "Son of a Bitch," but the title was changed at the request of A&M Records--although the song itself was not censored, and has been an album-rock radio favorite for years. |
| 165 | * Music/NinjaSexParty is officially shortened to NSP when its members collaborate with more family-friendly works, such as Danny's credit for the opening theme to ''WesternAnimation/MightyMagiswords''. |
| 166 | * Similarly, Music/NineInchNails' "Starfuckers, Inc." became "Starsuckers, Inc." for the single. |
| 167 | * "Waif Me" is an alternate title for "Rape Me" by Music/{{Nirvana}}, changed so that the album ''Music/InUtero'' could be sold in UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}} and other stores with CD censorship policies. To clarify, "Waif Me" is just an alternate title... on the track listing on the back of the CD case. The liner notes in the CD booklet still refer to "Rape Me," and in the song itself, Music/KurtCobain sings "Rape me." The only reason the band agreed to such a title change (as well as a change to the back cover) was that when Cobain and Krist Novoselic were growing up, the only place to buy records in their home town was Wal-Mart, and they empathized with kids in similar situations. |
| 168 | * Rap group Music/{{NWA}} (the full name, "Niggaz With Attitude", not generally being printed on the albums or posters). Likewise their 1991 album, whose title ''[=Niggaz4life=]'' was printed reversed (mirror-image) on the album--the album is often referred to as "[=Efil=]4zaggin." |
| 169 | * "Stuff is Messed Up" by Music/TheOffspring -- the chorus uses the phrase "Shit is fucked up", but the band made the title different so it could be printed on the CD case. |
| 170 | * CFBR-FM (100.3 The Bear) in Edmonton, Alberta, used to list Music/TheOffspring song "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" as "Pretty Fly (For a Nice Guy)" in their online song history. However, they changed it to the uncensored title in mid-2020. |
| 171 | * [[Music/WuTangClan Ol' Dirty Bastard]]'s ''Nigga Please'' doesn't display the full album title anywhere on cd/cassette/record packaging, rendering it as "N***a Please" - the back cover track-listing gives similar treatment to the title track as well as "You Don't Want To Fuck With Me" and "I Want Pussy". The credits in the booklet list the uncensored titles of all of the songs including the title track, though. |
| 172 | * The Music/LizPhair song titled "H.W.C." (abbreviation for "hot white cum", the phrase used in the song). |
| 173 | * Music/{{Prince}}'s "Sexy M[[spoiler:other]]F[[spoiler:ucker]]" and the Music/MindlessSelfIndulgence song "Stupid M[[spoiler:other]]F[[spoiler:ucker]]". |
| 174 | * Metal band Pist.On stylized their name that way as an IntentionallyAwkwardTitle (a pun on "piston" and "pissed on") - when their debut album ''#1'' was reissued by Creator/AtlanticRecords, the name on the cover was slightly changed to Piston. Atlantic would later drop the band from their roster; the followup album had them returning to the Pist.On moniker, and was pointedly titled ''$ell Out'' as a reference to their having previously compromised on their band name. |
| 175 | * When NoiseRock band Pussy Galore titled one of their albums ''Dial 'M' for Motherfucker'', they didn't use it on the cover: the shrinkwrap had a sticker saying "New Album by Pussy Galore", while the spine just said ''Dial 'M'''. You had to look at the label to see the uncensored phrase. Hilariously, ''Dial 'M' for Motherfucker'' was itself a censored title; the band wanted to call the album ''Make Them Eat Shit Slowly''. |
| 176 | * Music/{{Rammstein}}'s song "Pussy" appears on the sleeve as "P***y" and "Te Quiero Puta" ("I Love You, Whore") censors the word "puta". Although only on the US version. However, "B[=***=][=***=][=***=][=*=]" is ''not'' an example of this trope, as the word it's "censoring" ("Bueckstabue") is a nonsense word. |
| 177 | * Music/RedHotChiliPeppers' song "Party On Your Pussy" became "Special Secret Song Inside," although the uncensored title was later used. |
| 178 | * Music/{{REM}} originally intended to title one of the tracks on ''Music/AutomaticForThePeople'' "Fuck Me Kitten". When Creator/MegRyan informed them that the title would dissuade small town stores from selling the album, the band renamed the song "Star Me Kitten" so their younger fans could buy the album (though still kept the word "fuck" in the lyrics). |
| 179 | * The Reverend Horton Heat's "Five-O Ford" most likely qualifies, as the lyrics pretty clearly refer to "my ''fucked up'' Ford". |
| 180 | * Revolting Cocks albums are increasingly likely to credit the band as "Revco" on the cover. It might have something to do with their newer albums being distributed by Sony BMG Music, although their major label debut used the uncensored band name, and "Revco" is in fact a long established nickname for the band. |
| 181 | * The album "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Vol. 9" includes the song "Rock 'n Roll N#&&@" by [[Music/PattiSmith Patti Smith Group]]. |
| 182 | * "Star Star" by Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} was originally "Starfucker" but changed at the insistence of the record label. The chorus is still a huge ClusterFBomb though, and the band always refer to the song as "Starfucker". (Atlantic Records distributed the label's releases. Ahmet Ertegün actually wanted them to also change the lyrics... to remove mentions of [[Creator/SteveMcQueenActor Steve McQueen]], Creator/JohnWayne and Ali [=McGraw=], since he was afraid they would sue.) |
| 183 | * Music/MaxRomeo's 1969 reggae hit "Wet Dream" was not only banned from the air by the BBC, its title couldn't be mentioned either. This led to listeners to Alan Freeman announcing the new chart on Pick of the Pops hearing him mumbling "the Max Romeo record" before passing quickly on to play the next entry. Mark Goodier employed the same tactic in 1996 when he simply said "There's a new entry for Music/SuperFurryAnimals" without naming or playing it. The song in question being "The Man Don't Give A Fuck". |
| 184 | * [[Music/{{KISS}} Gene Simmons']] solo album ''Asshole'' is listed on Allmusic as ''[[http://www.allmusic.com/album/hole-mw0000337549 ***HOLE]]''. |
| 185 | * Music/PattiSmith was allowed ''Pissing In A River'' as an album track but not as a single. On some prints of the album sleeve it is spelt "P***ing..." |
| 186 | * The Music/BritneySpears song "If You Seek Amy" (which actually is a remake of an old song called "If You See Kay," which also met with controversy over what it implied) is often changed in radio edits (both in title and in the lyrics; see the [[Bowdlerise/{{Music}} Bowdlerization page]]) to "If You See Amy" or just "Amy". |
| 187 | * While Squarepusher's "My Red Hot Car" may not seem like this at first, those listening closely to the vocals will realize he's really singing about "my red hot cock." |
| 188 | * After threats of a lawsuit by Procter and Gamble, Music/TheyMightBeGiants changed the title of the John Henry song "Nyquil Driver" to "AKA Driver" on the album cover, and left the lyrics out of the liner notes, but the song was unchanged. |
| 189 | * Music/{{Tool}}'s song "Stinkfist" is called "Song #1" on MTV. [=VJs=] of the era would occasionally brandish and/or smell their fists before announcing the replacement name. |
| 190 | * The Argentine punk rock band "Los Violadores" (the name means "The rapists"). During the 1976-1983 military government, the band was promoted as "Los Voladores" ("the flyers") |
| 191 | * The Music/{{Ween}} song "L.M.L.Y.P." (Let Me Lick Your Pussy). |
| 192 | * Music/TheWho's album ''A Quick One'' was deemed a title too raunchy for 1960's North America (helps the TitleTrack is about infidelity) and renamed after a different track, ''Happy Jack''. |
| 193 | * Music/NeilYoung's "F*!#in' Up" is spelled in this manner on all versions of the album ''Ragged Glory''. |
| 194 | * The Seether song "FMLYHM" (Fuck Me Like You Hate Me.) |
| 195 | * On Music/WarrenZevon's album ''Life'll Kill Ya'' the song "My Shit's Fucked Up" was left off the song list on the outer casing. |
| 196 | * The [=iTunes=] store censors song titles that could be deemed offensive by replacing all but the first and last letters of the offending word with asterisks. They also at least sometimes do this when a song title includes a trademark - Tad's "Jack Pepsi" is rendered "Jack P***i" for example, making it sound more offensive as a title than it really is. Another quirk is that song or album titles can be censored, but artist names cannot, as this would make it difficult or impossible to search for certain groups: Thus the title of Starfucker's SelfTitledAlbum is almost entirely asterisked out, even though the uncensored band name appears directly below it. |
| 197 | [[/folder]] |
| 198 | |
| 199 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 200 | * Dean Atta's poem "I am Nobody's Nigger" was developed into a Radio 4 documentary called ''Nobody's N-Word''. |
| 201 | [[/folder]] |
| 202 | |
| 203 | [[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]] |
| 204 | * Reginald D. Hunter had a tour in the UK titled "Trophy Nigga"; it was advertised as "Reginald D. Hunter Live" everywhere. |
| 205 | * British stand-up comedian Roy Chubby Brown released a VHS in 1993 called "Jingle Bx@!*cks". |
| 206 | [[/folder]] |
| 207 | |
| 208 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 209 | * The roleplaying supplement for ''TabletopGame/BigEyesSmallMouth'' titled "Cute And Fuzzy Cockfighting Seizure Monsters". The "Cockfighting" had to be removed from the title to sell it in regular stores (comics/gaming specialty stores still got the uncensored title). |
| 210 | * Noted BoardGames[=/=]CardGames[=/=]TabletopGames manufacturer Cheapass Games -- so-called because [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin they keep the price down]] by omitting anything that you can borrow from your other board games, like play money -- is often called "CAG" in polite company. |
| 211 | [[/folder]] |
| 212 | |
| 213 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 214 | * The iTunes edition of the ''Theatre/AvenueQ'' soundtrack has a song called "It S***s to be Me". What does the "s" stand for? [[spoiler:Sucks.]] |
| 215 | * The Musical ''F#@king Up Everything''. |
| 216 | * UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity newspapers had a difficult time reviewing a 2012 play with Creator/ChrisRock called ''Theatre/TheMotherfuckerWithTheHat'', while getting it across which play they were reviewing. Radio and TV ads were upfront about not being able to use the title. Most publicity materials stylized it as "Motherf**ker with the Hat." |
| 217 | * The play ''Theatre/ShoppingAndFucking'' was usually listed as ''Shopping and F***king'' or ''Shopping and F$$$ing'' in advertisements. |
| 218 | * An Erie, Pennsylvania high school performance of ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'' could only be advertised as simply the school's "Spring Musical" because the principal objected to the "vulgar" title but not at all to any of the content of the show itself, which is odd considering the libretto contains the word "Urinetown" sung & spoken several times, plus a character who hints at having undergone a sex change and one use each of the words "piss", "hell", "damn", and "goddamn". |
| 219 | * The well-known theatre production ''Theatre/TheVaginaMonologues'' was retitled ''The Hoohah Monologues'' when locals in Atlantic Beach, Florida complained. Until Eve Ensler heard that they had retitled it, and told them that since changing the name was ComicallyMissingThePoint, they had to perform it under the real name or not at all. |
| 220 | [[/folder]] |
| 221 | |
| 222 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 223 | * While Mezco's toys for the 2004 ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'' movie were sold with the name intact, [[Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy the sequel]]'s toys were sold under the title "HBII" - and the main character was only referred to as "Red." |
| 224 | * When Mezco made toys based on the movie ''Film/KickAss'', images of the characters were used to cover up a portion of the name on the front of the packaging, rendering it as "Kick-A." Additionally, the character names were done in a "spray paint" style font, with extra paint making the two S's run together in a blur. On the rear of the package, photos of the toys and their shadows were used to censor the name. |
| 225 | ** Making toys for the sequel, NECA simply logoed the packaging "[=KA2=]." The main character was also called "KA," and his enemy was "MF'er." |
| 226 | [[/folder]] |
| 227 | |
| 228 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 229 | * ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}'' has Dr. Coyle's home stage, "[NAME REDACTED]". Yes, it really is the name, complete with all caps and brackets. |
| 230 | * Similarly, the ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' clone ''Bombing Bastards'' was retitled ''Bombing Busters'' when it made its way to [=PS4=] and Xbox One. Some of the achievement names are also censored, with names like "Lucky Bastard" being replaced with the softer-sounding "Lucky Buster". |
| 231 | * The achievement "When God Stops Smiling" in ''[[VideoGame/MafiaTheCityOfLostHeaven Mafia: Definitive Edition]]'' has the word "bastard" ommitted from the description "Completed 'You Lucky Bastard'", rendering it instead as "Completed 'You Lucky ...'" |
| 232 | * When ''VideoGame/StealthBastard'' was ported to consoles, its title was changed to ''Stealth Inc.: A Clone in the Dark''. The sequel retains the ''Stealth Inc.'' name on all platforms for which it was released. |
| 233 | [[/folder]] |
| 234 | |
| 235 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 236 | * ''WebAnimation/PinkBitchClub'' is written out as ''PINK BXXTCH CLUB'' or PBC on promo posts, and as ''PINK B*TCH CLUB'' on its playlist. |
| 237 | [[/folder]] |
| 238 | |
| 239 | [[folder:Web Video]] |
| 240 | * ''WebVideo/MittenSquad'': The video, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmX5AJ16qF0 "Lets Play DBZ Budokai HD: Part 1 | F*ck The Audio"]]. |
| 241 | * ''WebVideo/WorldWarTwo'': Episode 39 - "The Allied Clusterf**k in France" covering the week of May 25, 1940. |
| 242 | [[/folder]] |
| 243 | |
| 244 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 245 | * Used as a TakeThat with ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. The original title of the episode where the Warner siblings torment TheGrimReaper after Wakko wins a Swedish meatball-eating contest was "Death or Consequences." Since most American children's TV shows have a strict rule against depicting death ([[NeverSayDie even going so far as to not even talk about it]] -- which was definitely the case in the 1980s and 1990s), the censors wouldn't have it. It was then retitled "''Meatballs'' or Consequences", as if to sarcastically convey, "''There'', Warner Bros. BS&P, are you happy?!" Needless to say, is that the fact the meatballs was responsible for kick-starting the whole plot in the first place. |
| 246 | * The ''WesternAnimation/BlackDynamite'' episode "Bullhorn Nights" has two alternate titles. On cable guides, the alternate title is "Madingo's Got a Pink Toe." On Creator/AdultSwim, it's "Murder She Throats." |
| 247 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' had two when the show was rerun on Noggin/The-N: |
| 248 | ** "It Happened One Nut" (the episode where Daria gets a job at a nut kiosk at the mall as part of a school project) is called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Daria Gets A Job"]]. |
| 249 | ** "The F Word" (the episode where Mr. O'Neill assigns his students to succeed at failing at something -- [[HilarityEnsues with unlikely results]]) was infamously retitled as "Fail". |
| 250 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' episode "The Show That Dare Not Speak Its Name" was originally titled "Cubix Rube." It was probably changed because of legal issues (the creator and/or owner of Rubik's Cubes threatened to sue over use of the name without express written permission, even if it's a spoonerism), rather than being vulgar or sexual. |
| 251 | * The ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' episode "Three Men and a Bastard" (where Bill finds out that his latest girlfriend had sex -- and an illegitimate child -- with John Redcorn) went by the name "The Untitled Blake [=McCormick=] Project" as FOX objected to the word "bastard" being used. |
| 252 | * Some ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoons have gone through title changes when aired on CBS in the 1970s and 1980s. 1949's "Curtain Razor" was changed to "Show Stopper," presumably because the censors thought even the suggestion of a weapon was grounds for being "too violent" (even though there are no razors in the cartoon; the cartoon is about [[spoiler:Porky auditioning a string of freaks, weirdos, and funny cartoon animals at his talent agency]]). "Prince Violent" (a Bugs Bunny/Yosemite Sam cartoon with Yosemite Sam as a Viking) was changed to "Prince Varmint" on all TV versions (including cable, since the original title wasn't readily available). |
| 253 | ** In-universe was 1991's ''Blooper Bunny'' with the word "Blooper" obscured with swear symbols. |
| 254 | * Before they were ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls'', they were the "Whoopass Girls" in an animated short called ''Whoopass Stew''. While the finished product obviously uses a different name, the original animation and title have been discussed in the bonus features of certain DVD releases for ''The Powerpuff Girls''. Since those [=DVDs=] were marketed to kids, said discussions had to be bleeped whenever someone mentioned the show's original title or the girls' original name. As a joke, the censors get a little too bleep-happy at one point, censoring the first half of the word when series creator Craig [=McCracken=] says "aspire". |
| 255 | * The first episode of ''{{WesternAnimation/SheZow}}'' is called "[=SheZow=] Happens" in Australia. In the United States, it's called "You Go Girl!" in some guides, but the title card is left unedited. |
| 256 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': |
| 257 | ** The episode "Chicken Lover," in which the eponymous criminal is actually dubbed 'Chicken ''Fucker''.' |
| 258 | *** The term "Chicken Lover" ''was'' used in the episode, to be fair—three times by Officer Barbrady and once by Cartman. |
| 259 | --> '''Officer Barbrady:''' "Uh, Mayor, please. When we're around children we prefer to call him the "Chicken ''Lover''". |
| 260 | ** Also, 'An Elephant ''Makes Love To'' a Pig'. Was lampshaded in the pre-show teaser on the home video releases, with Trey Parker and Matt Stone who refer to the episode by its original title rather than the censored version. |
| 261 | ** "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" was listed on ''TV Guide'' as "Big Al's Big Boat Ride." |
| 262 | ** There was also the ''You Got Served'' parody episode whose official title was ''already censored'' ("You Got F'd In The A"), but still had a couple other cleaner titles, such as "You Got Served" or simply "You Got..." In Britain, it's called "You Got ------ in the ----" on the Sky TV guide. |
| 263 | ** British TV guides refer to "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?" as "Do the H-------- Go to Hell?" |
| 264 | ** "Whale Whores" often appears on cable guides as "Whale W...." Likewise for "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy," in which it appears as "Miss Teacher B.... a Boy" (though the unofficial alternate title to "Miss Teacher Bangs A Boy" is "Nice"). |
| 265 | ** Also, in the newspaper's TV sections, "Make Love, Not Warcraft" became just "VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft". Apparently, censoring innuendo is more important than respecting trademarks... |
| 266 | ** "The Biggest Douche in the Universe" is truncated in TV listings to just "The Biggest". The two-parter that closes Season 1 ("Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut") and "officially" opens Season 2 ("Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut") has "(is) a dirty slut" replaced by ellipses. The "bitch" in "Butters' Bottom Bitch" is replaced with a "B". |
| 267 | [[/folder]] |
| 268 | |
| 269 | [[folder:Other]] |
| 270 | * Damned Small Linux is often referred to as "DSL Linux" (with a bit of RAS Syndrome). |
| 271 | * The system cleanup tool [=CCleaner=] was formerly known as "Crap Cleaner". It was changed to sound less crass. |
| 272 | * A racehorse named Liquor In Excess's name was vetoed due to the possible double entendre ("lick her in excess"), so the owner changed the horse's name to Censored. |
| 273 | [[/folder]] |
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