'Hamilton' Star Christopher Jackson Weighs in on Disney+'s Decision to Censor F-Words

Throughout the entire two-hour, 40-minute musical Hamilton, author Lin-Manuel Miranda used the F-word exactly three times. However, since Disney+ does not include any R-rated films, two of the three instances had to be censored to grant the filmed production a PG-13 rating. Bull actor Christopher Jackson, who originated the role of George Washington in the musical, said the edits really should not matter to viewers.

"I want to say that only thing that I noticed was maybe an F-bomb or two," Jackson said in a recent interview with CinemaBlend, adding that the censorship does not change the meaning of the show. "Outside of that, it's the show. But I think just because of the motion picture guidelines, it's way more important that people see it. When my kids sing along to the soundtrack they don't get to say those words. But the first time my daughter did I said 'Uncle Lin has some explaining to do.'"

Miranda, who also played Alexander Hamilton, was asked about the situation back on June 22 after a fan noticed that the Hamilton movie was rated PG-13. Since the MPAA only allows one use of the F-word in a PG-13 movie, Miranda consented to have two of the three instances censored. In the song "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)," there is a mute over the line "I get the f— back up again." The line "Southern f—in' Democratic-Republicans" from the song "Washington on Your Side" has an added record scratch sound over the curse. "You can sing whatEVER you like at home (even sync up the album)!" Miranda tweeted. "Love you. Enjoy."

The film version of Hamilton was originally scheduled to have a traditional theatrical release in October 2021. However, Disney decided to push up the release by over a year, posting it on Disney+ Friday to make it available for families during the July 4 holiday weekend. The movie was filmed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in June 2016, just before Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo and Adriana DeBose left the production. Thomas Kail, who won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical for Hamilton in 2016, also directed the film.

Hamilton premiered at the Public Theater in New York City in January 2015 and was inspired by Ron Chernow's biography on Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury and a Founding Father. Miranda wrote the music, lyrics and book, and cast non-White actors as the historical figures in the musical. The original production won 11 of 16 Tony Awards it was nominated for, including Best Musical.