BelAmi has run afoul of censors in the UK, and it is because of a thermometer. 

 

In Rebels, there is a scene where Jack Harrer is sick and the other Kinky Angels come over to help him recover. The boys take Harrer's temperature with a thermometer up the butt. According to BelAmi, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) was afraid someone would try to mimic the scene in real life and could, potentially, get hurt. (Because of all the thermometer related deaths in England?) The board demanded that the DVD release of Rebels be edited before it would receive the necessary R18 classification for distribution in the country. 

 

Luca Norcen, head of BelAmi's global DVD operations, said that BelAmi refused to make the changes. "This whole affair is so utterly ridiculous it borders on the absurd," he explained. "The BBFC should begin treating U.K. viewers as responsible adults rather than children." 

 

He added: "Upon careful evaluation, we feel we cannot go ahead with the proposed cut. It will compromise the integrity of the scene, its unique flavor and its natural buildup. As far as a thermometer constituting penetration with an object which may cause harm, I find that hard to believe given every mom in the world of a certain age has done it a zillion times with her kids."

 

Rebels, complete with the thermometer scene, will be released today in the US. (And remember, penises and dildoes belong in bums; thermometers don't!)

 

And sadly, this is not an April Fool's joke.