ONTD

1:43 pm - 07/29/2012

Olympic Choreographer “Disheartened" NBC Cut His Entire Victims Tribute



“Our program is tailored for the U.S. television audience,” NBC responds.

“It’s a credit to (ceremony director) Danny Boyle that it required so little editing.”


Choreographer Akram Khan, whose "Abide With Me" tribute performance (which you can watch here) at last night's opening ceremony, was visibly shocked to learn NBC had edited out his performance when the network aired the ceremony in tape delay, choosing instead to air a Ryan Seacrest interview with Michael Phelps.

The performance was widely interpreted as a tribute to the victims of the 7/7 London bombings, as well as people who passed away before the 2012 Olympics.

Khan was silent, then he explained to the room and the reporter that this was the first he heard this news. You could see Khan was upset, stunned, shaken and disappointed all in an instant.

Khan's dance director and partner in the performance Farooq Chaudhry told Nicholas Wolaver "It's disgraceful U.S. media could make that decision and [I] would like to know why. Khan later said, "I am really sad that I couldn’t show the work in America, and that really upsets me, because I don‘t think it’s any more or less than the other pieces. It brings to mind the question … that maybe it’s too truthful...Is it not accessible enough? Is it not commercial enough?”

“Our program is tailored for the U.S. television audience,” said NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes in a statement. “It’s a credit to (ceremony director) Danny Boyle that it required so little editing.”

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babydiego 29th-Jul-2012 10:23 am (UTC)
too bad you guys didnt see it because it was beautiful.
6a696c6c 29th-Jul-2012 10:27 am (UTC)
yes bc if it didn't air on tv nobody in the US will ever see it
babydiego 29th-Jul-2012 11:08 am (UTC)
wow rude much
saltireflower 29th-Jul-2012 02:06 pm (UTC)
.........
jsrocks 30th-Jul-2012 11:55 pm (UTC)
I'm sad NBC feels the need to insult most Americans by insinuating we're too stupid or have the attention span of a fly. I would have liked to see the tribute instead of watching a dumb Phelps interview. Tragedies are felt by the world, not just the local citizens.

#NBCfuckingFAIL
dinosaur 29th-Jul-2012 10:24 am (UTC)
Stay classy, NBC!
6a696c6c 29th-Jul-2012 10:26 am (UTC)
yeah bc america just totally wantas to see ryan seacrest everywhere.

DONT TELL US WHAT WE WANT, NBC! YOU FUCKS
velvetunicorn 29th-Jul-2012 05:03 pm (UTC)
I'm surprised they didn't hire a Kardashian as some kind of correspondent.
gorlplz 29th-Jul-2012 10:30 am (UTC)
tailored for the U.S. television audience

oh shut the fuck up
modern_toilet 29th-Jul-2012 11:50 am (UTC)
"our program is tailored for the U.S television audience".

loooooooool, SO american
iantoj 29th-Jul-2012 12:14 pm (UTC)
Good grief, NBC, stop Britta'ing everything. You and I haven't been on speaking terms since you cancelled Life and you continue to go down hill. As a Brit, I am appalled and disgusted that you think a tribute to victims of a terrorist attack wouldn't be relevant to your viewers, because you know, you sort of have experience with that. If we ever choose to ignore 9/11 tributes, you better keep your opinions to yourself.
sekhmet2 29th-Jul-2012 12:17 pm (UTC)
Sadly this doesn't surprise me one bit. I really hope that the rest of the world doesn't think that ALL Americans are so narcissistic and self-centered as it would appear. I'm so glad that I didn't bother watching the coverage; going by the observations of people here who sat through it, I'm sure I would have been throwing things at the TV.
fabouluz 29th-Jul-2012 12:19 pm (UTC)
Nbc is a shit stain
insomniachobs 29th-Jul-2012 12:21 pm (UTC)
Apart from the sheer douchiness of cutting a tribute to terrorism victims... I'm sad for y'all that you didn't get to see it because it was a beautiful performance.
fauxjoy 29th-Jul-2012 12:28 pm (UTC)
How disrespectful.
mingemonster 29th-Jul-2012 12:50 pm (UTC)
Wow, that is offensive as hell
velvet_sn0w 29th-Jul-2012 01:06 pm (UTC)
Oh so I'd like to see America's reaction when Channel 4 / our other channels decide to not bother giving remembrance to 9/11 this year. We had a big chunk of schedule dedicated to it's 10th anniversary but they couldn't even be bothered to keep our tribute in the Olympics? Whatever, 7/7 was just as a big deal to the UK as 9/11 was to the US.
sideshowkat 29th-Jul-2012 01:10 pm (UTC)
Right NBC....because what America really needs to see is yet another interview with the overrated Michael Phelps.
anbyrobanby 29th-Jul-2012 02:29 pm (UTC)
take some schadenfreudesque comfort in the fact Phelps is flopping in the pool, bb
sideshowkat 29th-Jul-2012 02:41 pm (UTC)
Oh, I definitely am! I laughed so hard when he looked like a deer in the headlights when he was interviewed after his flop swim yesterday.
promisemewings 29th-Jul-2012 01:23 pm (UTC)
Way to cut us off from what's going outside the USA.

Ugh, Ryan Seacrest.
saltireflower 29th-Jul-2012 02:05 pm (UTC)
That's the best excuse corporate could come up with? Damn NBC looking amateurish right now.
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