An upcoming mass shooting scene in American Horror Story: Cult has been reedited in the wake of the horrific shooting in Las Vegas.
E! News reports that co-creator Ryan Murphy, speaking at the New Yorker Festival on Saturday, said they’d reedited the scene to be less graphic, showing the violence off-screen instead.
“I just made the decision that I’m going to have all of that violence be shown for the most part off camera,” he told the audience, admitting that he was unsure of how to handle the episode, which was filmed prior to the events of last weekend.
“Should you air it? Should you not air it? How do you be sensitive? My point of view was I believe I have the right to air it, but I also believe in victims’ rights, and I believe that now is probably not the week to have something explosive or incendiary in the culture because someone who was affected might watch that and it could trigger something or make them feel upset. So our decision was to re-edit it and I felt that that was the right move.”
58 people lost their lives and another 489 people were wounded after gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire during the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday evening.
“Nobody ever talks about victims’ rights,” Murphy continued. “That’s sort of a weird emotional discussion that’s never bridged… But I felt great sympathy for people who were affected, certainly, and family members and loved ones and people who are upset about the way the world is.”
The current season of AHS takes its inspiration directly from the 2016 presidential election, with Evan Peters starring as a Trump-supporter-turned-cult leader, and Sarah Paulson as a liberal supporter who starts seeing creepy clowns everywhere.
It’s not the first time AHS has explored mass shootings, either. In the first season, ‘Murder House‘, it is revealed that Peters’ character committed a mass shooting at his high school, inspired by real life events across the United States (including Columbine).
The cast haven’t commented on Murphy’s decision to reedit the ‘Cult’ episode, but it’s safe to assume they probably support it.
To the members of Congress who align themselves with NRA “your thoughts and prayers aren’t sufficient” thank you Jimmy Kimmel. THANK YOU. https://t.co/G6Q2MBi6gy
— Sarah Paulson (@MsSarahPaulson) October 3, 2017
