13 Reasons Why facing controversy after Texas school shooting
By Shawn Lealos
Netflix had scheduled an event to celebrate season 2 of 13 Reasons Why but a Texas school shooting shut down the event.
** There are minor spoilers for 13 Reasons Why season 2. **
A student took a gun into Sante Fe High School on Friday in Houston, Texas, and tragically10 students died. According to the New York Times, the student said he wanted to “have his story told.”
This school shooting took place the exact same day that 13 Reasons Why debuted its second season on Netflix. In a bitter piece of irony, 13 Reasons Why season 2 included a thwarted school shooting. This caused Netflix to make some major changes when it came to their promotion of the second season.
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Here is their press release (via. Cinema Blend):
"Our hearts are with the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting, and with all victims of gun violence. In light of today’s tragedy, we are cancelling the 13 Reasons Why S2 premiere event tonight."
This is not the first time that Netflix has made changes to their releases due to national tragedies. In 2017, Netflix pulled all promotion of their Marvel TV show The Punisher after the tragedy at a Las Vegas concert. Since Punisher is known for guns, it was a way for Netflix to show their sympathy without introducing an event that could trigger some individuals.
This also isn’t the first time that Netflix has faced controversy when it comes to 13 Reasons Why. With the first season dealing with suicide, two different groups of people called out the show. One claimed it glamorized suicide while the other said the suicide was too troubling to watch and could trigger those with suicidal tendencies.
The first season of 13 Reasons Why dealt with how students dealt with the news that they were partially responsible for the death of one of their classmates. Season two is about redemption and the way that some of those kids stepped up and finally did the right thing.
Next: 13 Reasons Why season 1 refresher before season 2 starts
However, as a melodrama at heart, there will always be something big and deadly happening on the show and the fact that this season was a thwarted school shooting caused the show a lot of problems due to the rash of school shootings across the United States.
Remember to check out our recaps of 13 Reasons Why season 2, starting with the first episode right here.