The airline Delta has said it will start showing fuller versions of the films Booksmart and Rocketman that were controversially edited to remove scenes involving LGBTQ love and sexuality.

“We are working to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” a spokeswoman said.

Delta faced criticism after it emerged it was showing films with edits that seemingly targeted gay and lesbian sexuality.

The actor Olivia Wilde said a version of the movie Booksmart, which she directed, omitted a lesbian sex scene, a female masturbation scene, the words “vagina” and “genitals” and an animated sequence in which the two main characters turn into naked dolls.

She also pointed out that the word “fuck” was not cut from the scene in which “vagina” was muted.

“What message is this sending to viewers and especially to women?” Wilde wrote on Twitter. “That their bodies are obscene? That their sexuality is shameful?”

Delta previously attracted opprobrium for showing a version of Rocketman, the Elton John biopic starring Tarron Egerton, which removed any reference to the musician’s sexual orientation.

The airline said the edits were made, unrequested, by a third-party vendor, with Delta picking the version for in-flight viewing. It said it has now put in place new measures to ensure the movies do not omit the LGBTQ scenes.

“Studios often provide videos in two forms: a theatrical, original version and an edited version,” a Delta spokeswoman said.

“We selected the edited version and now realize content well within our guidelines was unnecessarily excluded from both films. We are working to make sure this doesn’t happen again.



“The studio has agreed to provide a special Delta edit that retains the LGBTQ+ love scenes in both Booksmart and Rocketman that will be on our flights as soon as possible.”

Wilde said thank you on Twitter.

The spokeswoman said it was not Delta’s practice to omit LGBTQ love scenes, pointing to fuller in-flight versions of series and movies including Gentleman Jack and Moonlight.