Carol Fans Are Upset Delta Is Showing Edited Version of Film 

Carol fans are upset that Delta Air Lines is showing an edited version of the film in-flight that censors same-sex intimacy between the two lead characters -- Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett.

Cameron Esposito, a comedian and actress, tweeted Wednesday that she was on a Delta flight, where she first noticed the film was edited and cut out any scenes where Mara and Blanchett's characters kissed.

Mary Lambert, the singer, responded to Esposito, saying she watched Carol on a Delta flight, and assumed the film didn't have any intimacy between the two women. It wasn't until Esposito tweeted about the edited version of the film that she realized the movie contained scenes of intimacy between the two women.

Afterellen, a site for queer women, was the first to report the news. The site reached out to Delta airlines, who responded with this statement:

"There were two versions of this film that the studio makes available-one that is edited and one that is not edited. The edited version removes two explicit scenes that do not meet our guidelines. The edited version also removes all kissing. The other version is fully non-edited and includes the kissing, but it also includes the explicit scenes. Unfortunately, Delta doesn't have the rights to edit the movie, or to make the decision to keep some of that content (e.g. kissing).

Because of the explicit scenes included in the non-edited version, we chose the edited version. This is consistent with what is available to all airlines."

Carol has been labeled the best LGBT film of all time. Yet it is being censored to erase any sign of same-sex intimacy between two women. Esposito responded to a news article about the censorship with this hat:

"Lesbianism edited out of lesbian films is a big deal. We are not dirty," tweeted Esposito. Fans on twitter have started using the hashtag "#FreeCarol" to convince Delta to show the unedited version of the film. She reached out to Delta Air Lines via Twitter and the company replied, saying, "We gladly welcome all feedback from our customers & I will provide your comments to the appropriate teams at Delta."

(RELATED: The Carol Curse: Why Hollywood Still Can't Take a Lesbian Love Story Seriously)