Subtle Censorship of Bob Mackie?

When first introduced, Bob Mackie is shown seated next to a young man in a suit jacket and blue shirt, and it's obvious that they are acquainted with each other.

A second cut-back crops out the young man, but he is still there.

Carol and Vickie go into their number and when the camera cuts back to Bob, he is clearly in another row, surrounded by completely different people, and another man (who appears to just be a random audience member) is seated beside him, casually dressed in a red plaid shirt.

My thought upon watching this was that in the first shot, it seemed obvious that the young man was Mackie's partner, date or just boy-toy; and that at some point during the taping somebody behind the scenes must have decided that TV audiences in 2001 were not ready for that and moved Mackie to another seat.

Any thoughts? Feedback?

"If you don't know the answer -change the question."