Canada airs ABC’s cut bin Laden joke
LOS ANGELES – Days after President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed, an unlikely television series found itself in a bit of a bind.
ABCís comedy ìHappy Endingsî aired an episode Wednesday in which Zach Knightonís character compared an elusive mouse in Elisha Cuthbertís apartment to a ìbin Laden.î
During the airing in the U.S., Knighton told Cuthbert ó in discussing the hardships of trying to capture said mouse: ìHeís my bin Laden. … Jessica bin Laden, a super hot Arab girl I went to college with.î Then the audio cuts out, though Knightonís mouth is still moving.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that there was more to the joke, with the silenced line being, ìShe was the one that got away.î
Given that the actual Osama bin Laden is no longer the one who got away, itís understandable why ABC cut the line, which was taped about two weeks ago. But it aired in its entirety on Canadaís Citytv, suggesting ABC was mindful of the particular sensitivities U.S. audiences might have to a joke about the al Qaeda leader.
Video on ABC.com goes even further than simply bleeping the line. The scene in question has been altered, with the camera awkwardly cutting away immediately after Knighton finishes the line about college.
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