A mass shooting scene in American Horror Story: Cult was edited after Las Vegas tragedy, says the show’s producer Ryan Murphy.
During the New Yorker Fest panel on Saturday, he confirmed that a scene containing a deadly mass shooting on this Tuesday’s episode of American Horror Story: Cult has been edited to be less graphic.
The decision was made following last week’s deadly Las Vegas shooting in which at least 59 people were killed and over 500 more were injured.
The scene in Murphy’s horror anthology was filmed before the Las Vegas shooting and has been edited.
“I just made the decision that I’m going to have all of that violence be shown for the most part off camera,” Murphy revealed at the festival.
The producer admitted that he was unsure of how to handle the “locked” episode in the wake of the tragedy.
“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,” he explained.
He also said: “Nobody ever talks about victims’ rights. 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.”
