Apparently some things are too graphic for Ryan Murphy...
During the New Yorker Fest panel on Saturday, the American Horror Story producer, known for pushing boundaries with his grisly and gruesome depictions, 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 to show less carnage was made following last week's deadly Las Vegas shooting in which at least 58 people were killed and over 500 more were injured.
The scene in Murphy's horror anthology, which stars Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters, was filmed prior to the Vegas shooting and has been edited so that the violence occurs off screen.
"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 Feud 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."
The FX hit follows a Trump supporter-turned-cult leader, Kai, played by AHS veteran Evan Peters. The 11-episode series also stars Sarah Paulson, Cheyenne Jackson, Adina Porter, Chaz Bono, John Carroll Lynch, Emma Roberts, James Morosini, Mare Winningham and Frances Conroy, along with new cast members Billie Lourd, Alison Pill, Billy Eichner, Leslie Grossman, Colton Haynes and Lena Dunham.
American Horror Story: Cult airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.