Keanu Reeves films removed from Chinese streaming platforms

Keanu Reeves films have been removed from Chinese streaming platforms including Tencent Video and iQiyi (IQ.O) after he participated in a Tibet-related concert organised by a non-profit founded by the Dalai Lama.

According to Reuters, the Matrix and John Wick franchises, as well as Speed, were among the films that have been removed.

The Los Angeles Times, which first reported the content removal on Thursday said at least 19 of his movies were pulled from Tencent Video.

While content related to the Matrix films and some of Reeves’s other work were still searchable on WeChat, China’s ubiquitous messaging service, searches for his English name and its Chinese translation yielded no results.

iQiyi and Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), the parent company that owns Tencent Video and WeChat, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Reeves was not immediately available for comment.

In late January, Reeves received heavy criticism from Chinese social media users, some of whom called for a boycott of his work in China, after it emerged that he planned to appear in a March 3 concert organised by Tibet House US, a New York-based nonprofit founded at the request of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism’s spiritual leader.