Jason Derulo's "Cats" Costars Revealed It Wasn't Just His Bulge That Had To Be Removed

Jason Derulo's dick and its censorship have ruled headlines, but the truth is a little more complicated.

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BuzzFeed News is sorry to report Jason Derulo wasn’t the only one who had to have his genital bulge digitally removed from the psychedelic live-action adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical Cats.

His Cats costars Francesca Hayward (Victoria), Laurie Davidson (Mr. Mistoffelees), and Robbie Fairchild (Munkustrap) shed some much-needed light on the pressing situation during an interview on Friday with BuzzFeed News’ morning show AM to DM.

“Everyone was gone! Nobody had a bulge!" revealed Fairchild.

The conversation around Jason Derulo’s genitalia has been one of the more bizarre news items to come out of an already bizarre movie.

Derulo’s dick, if anyone needs a refresher, has been having a hard time lately. First, it was censored by Instagram and then, apparently, by the movie. The Instagram controversy occurred after he posted a thirst trap which was subsequently removed by the platform because of its policy regarding aroused genitalia, but he argued he was only semi-aroused.

During a subsequent appearance on Andy Cohen’s radio show, Derulo, who plays Rum Tum Tugger in Cats, boasted proudly that producers of the movie "CGI’d the dick out" because it was so big.

But Fairchild said it wasn't just Derulo's package that had to be erased. "It’s Cats!" he said. "If ours were gone, his should be gone!"

When told during his AM to DM interview that the Derulo penis censorship in Cats had been a "huge topic" of conversation in the BuzzFeed office, Davidson joked, "Huge topic? That's up for debate."

Cats is based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. It follows a group of cats called the Jellicle cats as they perform songs until one cat, named Old Deuteronomy (played by Dame Judi Dench in the movie) picks one of them to go to kitty-cat heaven.

Hayward confessed to BuzzFeed News that she’s never seen the original musical performed live. “I had a video and I just used to watch that all the time when I was, like, 8 years old, and I would always be Victoria,” she said. Hayward is now the principal ballerina at the Royal Ballet and has had roles in major productions like The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.

The cast members told BuzzFeed News that they had to go to three months of cat school to prepare for the role. “We played a lot of games to get into the mindset and physicality of cats,” Davidson said.

Hayward said that soon “it became normal” to see their costars as cats, adding that it would be weird to see them without the CGI setup, like dots on their faces, outside of filming.

Cats came out Friday, but the purr around it started months ago when the first trailer released and everyone was collectively shocked to see cat versions of A-listers like Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, and Jennifer Hudson.

IT Chapter Two: I’m the scariest trailer you’ll see all day! Cats: Hold my milk

The reviews of the movie have been roughly the same.

But Fairchild said he feels the musical itself has always been “polarizing."


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