Appearing on CNN this morning, a Newtown parent lamented Fox’s decision to air a school shooting episode of Glee without first notifying the community rocked by the elementary school massacre last December. Spoiler alert: The episode, which aired Thursday night, contained tense scenes of a gun firing at the fictional William McKinley High School, and students hiding and grappling with the fear of death and potentially never seeing their families again.
Speaking with CNN’s Carol Costello, Newtown resident Andrew Paley explained that many of the town’s parents are upset with the show for not notifying them that this episode would be airing so soon after the assault that left 20 children and six school staffers dead.
Paley praised Fox for airing a content warning at the beginning of the episode, but told Costello that it wasn’t enough to make up for the actual content of the show airing while the wounds are still fresh for many of the community’s families. During the episode’s airing, Twitter users slammed the show for being “insensitive” and “inconsiderate.”
The Newtown Action Alliance posted a message on the group’s Facebook page Thursday warning members about the episode, but as Paley told the press yesterday, “I think it’s terrible that the writers and producers of that show didn’t think to contact someone in Newtown to let us know this was coming.”
Watch the interview below, via CNN: