The new Fox series “24: Legacy” debuted earlier this month and its premise is the threat of a major terrorist attack in the U.S.A. by a Muslim terror group. In the latest episode, viewers got to watch what was supposed to be fictional footage of a Terror Attack at a shopping mall in Alexandria, Egypt, but it turns out this was not a fictional attack but was, in fact, the real deal. In the episode a CTU member is briefing superiors on a terrorist search, using the footage to explain how more than 200 people lost their lives in Egypt, including 18 Americans.
The actual attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi was carried out by Al-Shabaab militants back in September 2013, killing at least 67 people with dozens others injured. The producers of “24: Legacy” used the gruesome footage to portray what was supposed to be a fictional terror attack in Egypt.
The Chicago Tribute say it is not clear exactly how the executive producers obtained the Kenya attack footage, but they have now had to apologize to Kenya for airing that footage. The video used showed masked gunmen stalking the mall and shooting victims, and also showed children fleeing from the terror.
In the latest episode of Fox’s spy thriller, 24 Legacy, a counterintelligence agent briefs US authorities on the... https://t.co/A54jxake3Y
— Thus Spake (@thus_spake) February 23, 2017
Usage of the video footage in '24: Legacy' repulsive and insensitive
The Huffington Post quotes the Nairobi News, who reported that the Kenya Film Classification Board had stated the usage of the footage in the TV drama was a “repulsive, insensitive and reckless piece of art,” and that it heartlessly evoked painful memories of that tragic terror attack.
The report continued by saying the use of the footage “flies in the face of basic considerations of human dignity,” and that producers had total disregard for the feelings of the terror attack victims and their families.
The Classification Board CEO Ezekiel Mutua called it an inaccurate and false narrative of the actual Westgate terror attack and that using it for entertainment was callous and that it demeaned Africans, and Kenyans in particular.
The Nairobi News reporter wondered whether Fox was too broke to re-create a terror attack for the show, or just wanted the footage to be realistic.
Idiots at @FOXTV just used ACTUAL footage of the #westgate attack in E04 of #24Legacy and called it #egypt!! No respect for the victims #KOT
— TheRealCireUamak (@kamauwawangari) February 21, 2017
Executive producers of '24: Legacy' are 'deeply sorry'
Evan Katz and Manny Coto said in a statement Thursday that they “regretfully” used real news footage of the attack in Nairobi in episode 4 of the show.
They said this footage will be removed from any future broadcasts or versions of the TV show. The producers went on to apologize for any pain they had caused to the victims of the massacre and their families, saying in the statement they are "deeply sorry."
