diff --git a/django/contrib/comments/templatetags/comments.py b/django/contrib/comments/templatetags/comments.py
index 563a3ff..d275de5 100644
--- a/django/contrib/comments/templatetags/comments.py
+++ b/django/contrib/comments/templatetags/comments.py
@@ -80,9 +80,10 @@ class BaseCommentNode(template.Node):
             content_type = ctype,
             object_pk    = smart_unicode(object_pk),
             site__pk     = settings.SITE_ID,
-            is_public    = True,
         )
-        if getattr(settings, 'COMMENTS_HIDE_REMOVED', True):
+        if hasattr(self.comment_model,'is_public'):
+            qs.filter(is_public=True)
+        if getattr(settings, 'COMMENTS_HIDE_REMOVED', True) and hasattr(self.comment_model, 'is_removed'):
             qs = qs.filter(is_removed=False)
 
         return qs