14 DAY TRIAL // When the TV Academy announced that Cory Monteith, the “Glee” star who died this year at 31 after a long struggle with drug addiction, would be included in the In Memoriam segment at the Emmys 2013, the Internet nearly blew a fuse.
Emmys executive producer Ken Ehrlich is finally addressing the controversy in a statement to The Wrap.
One of the biggest complains with Cory’s inclusion was that he simply died too young to have a career that would merit a mention at the prestigious awards show, especially compared to other TV stars who died this past year.
Another was that he died of a drug and alcohol overdose and that, this way, the industry would glamorize addiction by honoring him posthumously.
Ehrlich explains that the decision is merely meant to appeal to a younger demographic, i.e. the very same people who thought the inclusion was well-deserved, the “Glee” fans.
“Cory’s appeal was to a little different generation than the others who we’re honoring,” he says.
“It was important to again be responsive to younger viewers to whom Cory Monteith meant as much as perhaps these other four individuals meant to other generations,” he adds.
The other four people who will be remembered at the awards show are Jonathan Winters, James Gandolfini, Jean Stapleton, and Gary David Goldberg.
Ehrlich stresses that, even if the In Memoriam segment would be expanded to include 20 names, some people would still not be happy and have nasty things to say about it.
“No matter what we do, I think there will be people who feel that we could have done other options,” he explains.
Cory found international fame on the hit Fox series “Glee” but he never got to build a career outside this universe: at the time of his passing, he had completed work on a couple of projects and was in the middle of launching himself as a big screen actor.