Netflix Is Censoring Bert Kreischer’s Nipple On Their Home Page … But Why?

If there’s one thing you need to know about comedian Bert Kreischer it’s that he likes to take off his shirt as soon as he takes the stage. The legendary former frat boy — he was the inspiration for Van Wilder — started it years ago as a goofy way to hype up the audience and it has now become “his thing.” Case in point: Kreischer takes off his shirt in the first 30 seconds of his brand new Netflix special Bert Kreischer: Secret Time. And he keeps it off.

There he is, folks. He is irrepressibly uncouth, and proud of it. In his unadorned form, Bert Kreischer is as close to Rousseau’s ideal of “natural man” as we might find in 2018.  His grin screams mischief and his soft belly sings with a quiet gurgling burp, “I’ve had a lot of beers.” It’s no big deal. After all, Bert’s just here to get drunk and tell some secrets. These secrets? Mostly rude thoughts he has about his dear loved ones in the privacy of his own untortured psyche. He is, after all, only human.

Bert Kreischer is a goofball, but there’s something about his shirtless schtick that smacks of innocence. Which is why it’s weird that Netflix might be trying to censor Mr. Kreischer’s nipple.

Stay with us for a moment. You see, even though Kreischer is allowed to free his nips during the entirety of Secret Time, and although Netflix promoted the special by giving viewers a clear view of his areola in the teaser trailer, it’s a different story when you’re browsing through the American Netflix library. You might see Mr. Kreischer’s nipple covered by a star.

Or you might see it cut out of the frame all together.

There is Bert Kresicher’s red solo cup of beer. Lo, you can make out his silly jester’s face. And you can see the beautiful round radius of his belly. But you cannot find either of Bert Kreischer’s nipples in any of these official Netflix library tiles.

Another interesting note: Over on Netflix’s official YouTube channel, Bert’s completely uncensored right nip is front and center in the promo still, announcing to Netflix’s 5.6 million YouTube subscribers that this is a comedy special that you need to watch. See what we mean?

We reached out to Netflix for comment, and while they demurred from explaining the logic behind covering a grown man’s nipple with a lily white star, they did point us to a public explanation for why some people see different images for the same show while browsing their libraries. We also reached out to Bert Kreischer’s reps multiple times to see if he had any official comment on this perplexing issue, but have not heard back.

During an interview Decider earlier this summer, Kreischer did tell us that he had been told in the past to keep his shirt on while filming specials. “Showtime was like, ‘You should wear a shirt.’ I’ve never been so uncomfortable with a shirt!” he said, referring to 2016’s Showtime comedy special Bert Kreischer: Machine. Incidentally, the jokes Kreischer told while shirtless during the special went viral.

In fact, Kreischer has a reason for keeping his shirt off. “At the beginning (of shows), I’d rip it off, kill a beer, and then put it back on. Then one time in Columbus, this woman started giggling. I stopped to ask her why, and she said, ‘You kept your shirt off.’ I didn’t realize I’d forgotten to put it back on,” he said. And since then, he’s found more success shirtless than not.

Bert Kreischer: Secret Time is now streaming on Netflix, and you can see Kreischer’s nipples during the whole darn thing.

Watch Bert Kreischer: Secret Time on Netflix