By Philiana Ng and Marisa Guthrie
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Days after President
Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed, an
unlikely television series found itself in a bit of a bind.
ABC's comedy "Happy Endings" aired an episode Wednesday in
which Zach Knighton's character compared an elusive mouse in
Elisha Cuthbert's apartment to a "bin Laden."
During the airing in the U.S., Knighton told Cuthbert -- in
discussing the hardships of trying to capture said mouse: "He's
my bin Laden. ... Jessica bin Laden, a super hot Arab girl I
went to college with." Then the audio cuts out, though
Knighton's mouth is still moving.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that there was more to
the joke, with the silenced line being, "She was the one that
got away."
Given that the actual Osama bin Laden is no longer the one
who got away, it's understandable why ABC cut the line, which
was taped about two weeks ago. But it aired in its entirety on
Canada's 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.
(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog
"Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)
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