Malaysian TV network censors Madonna's skimpy outfit at Grammy

 Madonna's performance was struck from Malaysia 's television broadcast of the Grammy Awards because her skimpy outfit and steamy dance moves were too risque for audiences in this Muslim-majority nation, a network official said Friday.

Photo: Malaysian TV network censors Madonna's skimpy outfit at Grammy

The Grammys aired Thursday night on Malaysia 's 8TV station, 12 hours after the show took place in the United States , but Malaysian fans were surprised when the show kicked off without the much-hyped opening act Madonna and the cartoon-fronted rock group Gorillaz.

"From our point of view, it wasn't suitable for our audiences," said an official at the program content unit of 8TV, one of Malaysia's main private networks.

The rest of the telecast wasn't censored, but Madonna's barelegged leotard attire and sexy gyrations were "too much of a risk for us to take if we tried to show it," the official said on condition of anonymity.

In her Grammy performance of her recent hit, "Hung Up," Madonna, 47, writhed onstage with her background dancers, both male and female, to a throbbing disco beat.

Television shows and movies screened in Malaysia must abide by a strict censorship code that forbids sex, graphic violence and provocative handling of topics such as race and religion, reports the AP.

N.U.