5 Intimate Lines Cut From U.S. Version of Morrissey's Book
A little over a month after its release in Great Britain,
Morrissey's Autobiography finally hit the shelves in America this week. But Smiths fans
be warned: This isn't the same book.
Curiously missing from the U.S. version of Autobiography are parts where Morrissey talks about a man he had a relationship with in the '90s, a photographer named Jake Walters. A photograph of Jake Walters, present in the British version, is also missing.
Fuse reached out to the publishers of Autobiography at Penguin but have yet to hear back with any comments or clarification on the decision to excise parts detailing Morrissey's relationship with a man.
But fortunately, we also have copies of both editions in front of us. Here are five significant sentences that were cut from or altered in the segment about Moz and Jake Walters.
Cut Sentences
"I am photographed for Creem magazine with my head resting on Jake's exposed belly."
"Indulgently Jake and I test how far each of us can go before 'being dwelt in' causes cries of intolerable struggle, but our closeness transcends such visitations."
"'Well,' said the woman in the British Airways lounge, 'You're either very close brothers or lovers.' 'Can't brothers be lovers?' I impudently reply."
Altered Sentences
In the UK version, Moz writes, "There will be no secrets of flesh or fantasy: He is me and I am he." The U.S. version simply reads, "There will be no secrets of flesh or fantasy."
In the UK version, Morrissey tells the story of Pretenders' singer Chrissie Hynde biting a dog in a pub. The introductory line to the anecdote is: "'Do you know what dogs love?' Chrissie asks Jake and I, 'They LOVE this.'" In the U.S. version, Jake is mysteriously missing from the story: "'Do you know what dogs love?' Chrissie asks me, 'They LOVE this.'"
One note: The UK version of the book credits the image of Walters to Walters, so he obviously was consulted at some point during the production of this book. So it seems unlikely he suddenly demanded cuts.
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