Shows Cancelled Or Aired With Disclaimers Out of Respect For Sandy Hook Elementary Victims
At the end of last week, nearly two dozen people became victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Including a little girl who played dead among the bodies of her slain classmates only to emerge covered in blood and suffering survivors’ guilt. It was an utterly awful weekend and because the nation was so raw from the tragedy, steps were taken to temper people’s viewing.
* For example, TLC announced it would be postponing its Best Funeral Ever reality show since the victims’ families are currently planning funerals and the timing would have been in bad taste (note: TLC, any timing would have been in bad taste).
* Also affected were the season finales of Dexter and Homeland which aired with the disclaimer: “In light of the tragedy that has occurred in Connecticut, the following program contains images that may be disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.”
* New episodes of Seth MacFarlane’s American Dad and Family Guy were pulled at the last moment and replaced with repeats because of “sensitive content.”
* Syfy indefinitely postponed the airing of an episode of Haven “that features scenes of fictitious violence in a high school.” In its place will be a holiday repeat of Eureka. ”Tonight’s scheduled 10 p.m. episode of Haven contained scenes of fictitious violence in a high school,” said Syfy in a statement. “In light of today’s tragedy in Newtown, Conn., we have decided not to air it. At this time, no decision has been made as to when the episode will air.”
* Discovery Channel has cancelled American Guns, a reality show about a family who makes guns for a living, after its Facebook was flooded with complaints and calls for the show to be pulled in the wake of the school shooting. A Discovery rep confirms the show will not (ever) return for a third season, although the rep did not confirm whether it was out of respect for the Sandy school victims.
* In movie news, Paramount announced that this weekend’s Jack Reacher premiere in Pittsburgh had been postponed. “Due to the terrible tragedy in Newtown, Conn., and out of honor and respect for the families of the victims whose lives were senselessly taken, we are postponing tomorrow’s Pittsburgh premiere of Jack Reacher,” Paramount said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to all those who lost loved ones.”
* And Fox cancelled the Parental Guidance premiere party. “In light of the horrific tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut we are canceling the red carpet press event and the after party for the Parental Guidance premiere, scheduled today in downtown Los Angeles,” a Fox spokesman said. “The hearts of all involved with this film go out to the victims, their families, their community, and our entire nation in mourning.
Also, the NRA (The National Rifle Association) has been quiet since the shooting, and even pulled its main Facebook page.
In related news, President Obama gave a speech about the Sandy Hook Elementary victims ahead of this weekend’s 49ers-Patriots game which angered some viewers, especially crazy racist viewers, enough that Deadspin.com was able to compile an alarmingly long list of kids writing epithets and profanity because sports, and Bob’s Burgers, is apparently more important than honouring dead children.
Incidentally, the guy at the top of Deadspin’s list, Bradley Patterson was an “uninvited walk-on long snapper” and late edition to a North Alabama football team who have subsequently fired him. Patterson wrote: “Take that n**ger off the tv, we wanna watch football!” The football team responded to public outrage by firing him and tweeting: “Thx 2 everyone who brought the inappropriate tweet to our attention. @UNAAthletics does not condone. He is no longer a member of the team.”
And, finally, a scam Twitter account is deceiving people with the false promise that a follow or re-tweet will automatically donate money to victims of the shooting. @_Pray4Newtown is lying about having a son killed in the shooting but that’s not stopping people blindly sharing the account’s content (and continuing to do so after being informed it’s a sham, as did Erin Andrews). The woman whose REAL son is in the photo says the boy is alive and well (and they’re not involved with the account nor the shooting) and people should report @_Pray4Newtown as spam (UPDATE: @_Pray4Newtown has finally been suspended).