Angry Train Crash Survivors Claim Netflix Used Disaster Footage in "Bird Box"
Netflix is accused of using footage of the deadly Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in Canada in its post-apocalyptic thriller, Bird Box.
Survivors of the 2013 train crash are outraged. They criticize the Netflix original for using the disaster for entertainment purposes, the CBC reported.
“I don’t know if this is happening all the time, but we are looking for assurances from Netflix that… they are going to remove them,” Lac-Mégantic Mayor Julie Morin told the CBC. Morin said Netflix’s use of actual footage of the tragedy showed a “lack of respect” to victims and survivors.
On July 6, 2013, the runaway train derailed in the small Quebec town, causing its shipment of millions of gallons of oil to catch fire, killing 47 people and decimating the city’s downtown.
“It’s hard enough for our citizens to see these images when they are used normally and respectfully on the news,” said Morin. “Just imagine, to have them used as fiction, as if they were invented.”
Fortune has contacted Netflix for comment.
The fictional Netflix sci-fi series Travelers is also criticized for using footage of the train crash. In a statement, Carrie Mudd, president of the show’s production company Peacock Alley Entertainment, apologized, reported by BuzzFeed News.
“We sincerely apologize and had no intention to dishonor the tragic events of 2013,” Mudd said. “We are already working to replace the footage in the show.”
