Skylar Gray surprised by Fortnite’s religious censorship of Eminem’s music | Eminem.Pro

Fortnite takes the definition of profanity to new heights on in-game radio.

The game’s Icon radio has been playing Eminem’s tracks for a week. This collaboration has spawned speculation of another upcoming joint venture and also surprised some gamers with an even more vigorous censorship attempt that Eminem fans are used to.

Skylar Gray noticed that Beyonce’s line from “Walk on Water” had been changed. Of “I walk on water / But I’m not Jesus” , the word Jesus was muted. Skylar co-wrote and co-produced the song, so she knows it by heart and not for a second thought it was offensive.

She shared her shock and the video in her Instagram Stories, asking:

Why did they mute Jesus? Is that a bad word now too?

In fact, American broadcasters have been there for decades. In 1934, the Federal Communications Act declared that broadcast airwaves were a limited resource and that licenses to use them should be granted on the basis of the “interest, convenience, and necessity” of the public. And the government agency that regulates these airwaves, the Federal Communications Commission, has determined that obscene speech does not fall into any of these categories. Additionally, broadcasters who exercise their right to obscene speech can be fined or even lose their license. The definition of what constitutes a violation of FCC regulations is vague and very much depends on how puritanical the society is at any given time. One of America’s content distribution services offers these tips on recognizing questionable content for producers submitting their shows: “Generally, any derogatory term for genitals, any hateful word, or anything you would be hesitant to say in front of your prudish mother or uncle”.

So, from time to time, producers decide not only to beep or mute four-letter words and their derivatives, but also “damn” and sometimes “God.” The latter, however, is not so much rooted in the consideration of the offensive word per se, but occurs more due to the fear of using God’s name in vain. There have been instances such as the word Jesus on ABC’s daytime show “The View” or the removal of all references to God from the Oscar-nominated film “The Queen”, leaving the characters to say “(beep) bless you, lady ”. And sometimes producers get overzealous and silence words that sound like profanity, as happened to actress Frances McDormand who was censored at the 2018 Golden Globes for saying “tectonic change”. The list continues.

The Fortnite cleanup of Eminem songs, anything that can be considered even slightly risky is a clear example of a valiant effort to offend no one and keep your hands clean. As a result, we cut “Jesus” to “Walk on Water” and “Devil” to “Venom” on Fortnite Icon Radio.

You can listen to the original songs on “Curtain Call 2” below: