14 DAY TRIAL // A while back, word got out the Discovery was preparing to air a documentary on Michael Jackson’s autopsy, using a synthetic cadaver. Fans have been campaigning against it since then – and now the Estate is also joining in the fight.
Co-executors John Branca and John McClain have fired off a scathing letter to Discovery, warning the network it would be in very bad taste to air the documentary.
Because it’s based on court documents and witnesses’ testimonies, the show has little to no medical value, they say. Therefore, there’s no purpose to airing it than pure financial gain, TMZ reports.
The e-zine also got a hold of the letter sent by the executors to the network – and it seems to hint there’s no legal option available to them to stop the show from airing.
“Michael Jackson’s estate is unleashing its fury on Discovery Channel for advertising an upcoming TV special set to run in the UK featuring a reenactment of MJ’s autopsy,” TMZ writes.
As we also informed you a while back, the show will include an “anatomically correct synthetic cadaver” for Michael Jackson, which fans too found in very bad taste.
“Co-Executors John Branca and John McClain fired off a vitriolic letter to the Prez of Discovery – obtained by TMZ – in which they accuse the network of operating in ‘shockingly bad taste... motivated solely by your blind desire to exploit Michael’s death, while cynically attempting to dupe the public into believing this show will have serious medical value’,” TMZ writes.
“The Co-Executors are particularly outraged by a print ad, depicting a corpse sprawled on a gurney, covered by a sheet with a sequined glove sticking out,” the e-zine further writes.
As it happens, though, neither executor can actually take legal action against Discovery to bar the documentary from ever airing, TMZ reports, which is why “they are appealing to Discovery’s moral decency to cancel the program.”
As of now, Discovery is yet to say anything about airing the controversial documentary / re-enactment.