Michael Jackson scene cut from 'Bruno' at last second

Posted Friday, June 26, 2009 at 4:27 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

Universal Pictures has decided to remove a scene mentioning Michael Jackson from the upcoming comedy Bruno. The segment features Sacha Baron Cohen (as his flamboyant Bruno character) interviewing LaToya Jackson about, among other things, her brother.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio cut the scene "out of sensitivity to the Jackson family." The last minute change was made in the short hours between the King of Pop's death announcement Thursday and the film's L.A. premiere later in the evening.

Apparently, the scene in question was included in earlier showings of the film for critics. THR says the jokes mentioned Jackson's famous white glove and high-pitched voice.

The scene might return to Bruno for its nationwide premiere on July 10 or for DVD. THR quoted director Larry Charles, "We decided to take it out for tonight, and we'll reassess before the release whether to keep it out." Cutting the scene from thousands of prints ready to be shipped to theaters across the country would be a costly move.

This isn't the first time in recent history that a change like this has been made. Sony removed a teaser trailer for Spider-man involving the web slinger and the World Trade Center towers after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. You can still watch that video via the wonders of YouTube.