THE BBC has come under fire after a “ghoulish” tweet on the tragic death of a filmmaker who was shot with a prop gun by film star Alec Baldwin.
Halyna Hutchins was killed on the set of the movie “Rust”, being filmed in New Mexico, while director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident.
Baldwin said there were "no words to convey [his] shock and sadness" regarding the tragic accident.
On Saturday, BBC News ran an audio clip of the first responders reporting on the accidental death.
A tweet promoting the story read: “Hear first responders and others react after Alec Baldwin shot director Halyna Hutchins with a prop gun.”
The story has been criticised online, with former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson saying it was “ghoulish”.
Davidson tweeted: “Jeez, ghoulish much? You're supposed to be @BBCNews not some sensationalist rag like the National Enquirer…”
Jeez, ghoulish much? You're supposed to be @BBCNews not some sensationalist rag like the National Enquirer... https://t.co/PaIKu97aiU
— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonPC) October 23, 2021
Journalist and author Charles Arthur commented: “This has no news value. It gives us no actionable information, there’s nothing we can do to stop the same happening, it doesn’t tell us anything meaningful.
“Bad judgment,” he added.
Writer Caspar Salmon wrote: “A modicum of decency from our state broadcaster, please.”
Further social media users called on the BBC to take the clip down, calling it “disgusting” and “irresponsible”.
“A woman has died. This should not be available to the public and the BBC should not be sharing it. Please take it down,” wrote one Laura Tisdall.
The BBC declined to comment.
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