‘Hamilton’ Gets PG-13 Rating, But Did Disney+ Edit Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway Show?

UPDATE: 3:29 p.m. EDT-- Lin-Manuel Miranda confirmed on Twitter that two swear words were censored in order to get a PG-13 rating. "In Yorktown, there's a mute over "I get the f___ back up again'" he wrote, adding that the other line is now, "Southern *record scratch*kin' Democratic Republicans."

Original story: “Hamilton” is coming to Disney+, but it’s not exactly family-friendly. The streaming service released the first trailer, which revealed that Disney+ will rate the Broadway musical about Alexander Hamilton PG-13.

There are some adult themes in “Hamilton.” After all, it’s about the life of Alexander Hamilton, who famously died in a duel with Aaron Burr. In covering the story leading up to the murder, Hamilton’s other life events—which include an affair and the death of a child—are also explored.

It’s the profanities that fans are really wondering about. Disney+ has plenty of PG-13 fare with Marvel titles and others that involve swearing. However, anyone who has listened to the “Hamilton” soundtrack knows that this is more than a couple curse words. The show uses the F-word at least three times (twice as part of compound words starting with “mother”). That’s where fans are wondering what Disney+ will do, and creator/star Lin-Manuel Miranda said he wouldn’t mind cutting a couple of words out.

“If we have to mute a word here or there to reach the largest audience possible, I'm OK with that, because your kids already have the original language memorized,” he told New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan earlier this year. “I don't think we're depriving anyone of anything if we mute an f-bomb here or there to make our rating"

Typically, PG-13 films get one F-bomb, but the Motion Picture Association of America does grant exceptions to this rule when the use of the words is non-sexual, as it is in “Hamilton.” The official rules state:

A motion picture’s single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual contextThe Rating Board nevertheless may rate such a motion picture PG-13 if, based on a special vote by a two-thirds majority, the Raters feel that most American parents would believe that a PG-13 rating is appropriate because of the context or manner in which the words are used or because the use of those words in the motion picture is inconspicuous.

“Hamilton” never uses f-words to refer to actual sex acts. Instead, they’re just used for emphasis:

• “When you knock me down I get the [expletive] back up again”
• “Southern [expletive] Democratic Republicans”
• “Sit down, John, you fat [expletive]”

It seems like “Hamilton” didn’t have a problem with the MPAA, but fans are worried that Disney+ might have taken some liberties. The streaming platform has edited other films on the platform. Darryl Hannah’s bare bottom was edited out of “Splash” and swear words were deleted from “Adventures in Babysitting” and “Free Solo.” Will Hamilton have profanities censored?

Ultimately, fans will have to wait and see what “Hamilton” looks like when the filmed version of the Broadway show (with the original cast) releases on Disney+ July 3.