UPDATE: In addition to @HBOMaxHelp's post, WarnerMedia exec Johanna Fuentes has confirmed that the TV edit of Birds of Prey was put on HBO Max in error and that the R-rated cut would be restored at some point. Fuentes also stated that only the R-rated version would be on HBO Max going forward. You can read this article as it originally appeared below.
It is unclear when the original, R-rated version of the DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) will be added to HBO Max, though the streaming platform is at least aware of the problem.
It recently came to light that the version of Birds of Prey currently streaming on HBO Max is not the R-rated cut shown in theaters, but a re-edited cut made with broadcast television in mind. (The R-rated version was originally available on HBO Max, though the film just recently returned to the platform after leaving on Nov. 14.) While Birds of Prey is still listed on HBO Max as being rated R for "suggestive dialogue, language [and] violence," the version of the film that actually plays is the one that recently began airing on TNT with a TV-14 rating, which opens with a disclaimer reading, "This film has been modified as follows from its original version: it has been edited for content."
True to its word, HBO Max's current version of Birds of Prey features dubbed-over swears. Other examples of censorship include Renee Montoya's (Rosie Perez) t-shirt reading "I shaved my balls for this?" being blurred and a shot where Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) flips both middle fingers being edited so that she's now flashing a double peace sign with her palms inward (which, ironically, would still be considered an obscene gesture in certain regions). This mix-up has confused fans, seeing as how HBO -- the pay TV network from which HBO Max gets its name -- has long prided itself on airing R-rated content unedited.
The official @HBOMaxHelp Twitter account addressed the issue when replying to an inquiry from one such fan. "Hey, there, right now we have no information when we will get the unedited version of Birds of Prey," HBO Max's tweet reads. "For updates regarding future releases please see http://hbomax.com/whats-new. And it may just change with no fanfare at all. Have faith and thanks."
Directed by Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey initially hit theaters on Feb. 7, 2020. Set within the DCEU, the film marked Robbie's second outing as fan-favorite DC character Harley Quinn, the first being in 2016's Suicide Squad. In Birds of Prey, Robbie was joined by the aforementioned Perez as Renee Montoya, as well as Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett as Black Canary, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz and Ewan McGregor as Black Mask. Robbie subsequently reprised her role as Harley once more in writer-director James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which released earlier this year.
While Birds of Prey underperformed at the box office, the film was met with predominantly positive reception from critics and audiences alike. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a "Certified Fresh" rating of 79 percent, as well as an audience score of 78 percent. Moreover, a spinoff film centering on Smollett's Black Canary is currently in development at HBO Max.
Source: Twitter