'American Horror Story' Cuts Gun Violence Scene Because of Las Vegas

Gun control has returned to the forefront of the American psyche after the tragic mass shooting that occurred at a Las Vegas music festival on October 1. Gunman Stephen Paddock’s attack left 58 dead and over 500 wounded, making his rampage the deadliest mass shooting in recent American history. Taking this tragedy into account, American Horror Story: Cult is ditching a “gun violence” scene in the live version of its upcoming episode on Tuesday.

In a statement released on Monday, FX said:

In light of the tragedy last week in Las Vegas, Ryan Murphy and the producers of ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ have chosen to make substantial edits to the opening scene of tomorrow night’s episode (Tuesday, October 10, 10 PM ET/PT). This opening, which was filmed two months ago and which portrays an occurrence of gun violence that has sadly become all too common in our country, contains a sequence that some viewers might find traumatic. Only the edited version of the episode will air on the FX linear channel, while the unedited version of the episode will be available on the VOD platform of your cable, satellite or telco provider, as well as on the FX Networks non-linear platforms, FXNOW and FX+.

So, the live version of Tuesday’s episode, “Mid-Western Assassin,” won’t include a gun violence scene out of respect for the victims of the Vegas shooting. But, if you really do want to watch the scene to get a sense of the original story, you’ll be able to find the unedited edition online.

FX isn’t the only media company to cut gun and violence-based programming recently. Netflix canceled its The Punisher panel at 2017’s New York Comic-Con this past weekend out of respect for the Vegas victims as well. Unlike American Horror Story, though, Netflix’s Punisher series is still shrouded in mystery.