Patricia S., from the Open Salon Blog explains,
Soon after Penny Starr's review was published on the conservative news site cnsnews.com, Catholic League President Bill Donohue called the video “hate speech" and criticized the usage of a crucified Jesus covered in ants as "anti-Christian", among other things.Turns out the opinions of the conservative sector who ended up succeeding in censoring the work of art were based on an unauthorized clip available on YouTube:
A significant act of censorship has snowballed because of one video on YouTube: a user-generated, super low-quality illegitimate copy of Fire In My Belly edited not by Wojnarowicz nor his estate; an illegal copy including an unauthorized soundtrack by Diamanda Galas. The origin of the video is unknown or unclear.The full entry if worth the read.
Also, please visit the PPOW Gallery's Vimeo channel for an unedited version of David Wojnarowicz's Fire In My Belly.
[Earlier: Fire In My Belly by David Wojnarowicz, 1987, with updated video]
