No stranger to making futile appeals for decency from those who have no sense of it, Louis C.K. is publicly calling on Internet hecklers TMZ to remove footage of the crash that injured Tracy Morgan and Ardie Fuqua, and killed their fellow comedian Jimmy “Mack” McNair. The video (which we won’t link to, though obviously it’s still out there) was taken moments after the accident by a bystander, and shows an unconscious Fuqua being pulled from the wreckage. Yesterday, C.K.—who cast Fuqua in a couple episodes of Louie—tweeted a link to an Instagrammed plea from Fuqua’s daughter to have it removed.
In a series of tweets, C.K. chastised TMZ and asked that, in addition to not watching it, his followers petition TMZ to take it down. Naturally, they’ve responded in kind—though it’s hard to imagine TMZ differentiating their tweets from the usual “YOU GUYS ARE SHITHEADS” clogging their notifications.
Take it down TMZ.
Now. Please. http://t.co/evEFvWniIJ
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) June 12, 2014
Ur all crashing the Link to story. Tmz has a video of footage of my friends Tracy and Arte in a terrible crash. They are in ICU
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) June 12, 2014
Arte's brave daughter asked them to take it down. They won't.
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) June 12, 2014
Please don't go to TMZ to watch the video. Please ask them to take it down. @TMZ
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) June 12, 2014
This is from Arte's daughter. http://t.co/N6rmdUT5dg
Please take it down @TMZ
please don't watch it @you
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) June 12, 2014
C.K.’s call to action was soon echoed by Judd Apatow, who reached out to TMZ’s Harvey Levin directly.
As of the writing of this article, Levin had responded by asking his followers if they thought energy crystals were working for Robin Thicke, and “why/why not?” (Also, are Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber dating again? “Why/why not?”)
Anyway, it seems unlikely that TMZ will comply with—or even respond to—C.K. and Apatow’s demands, though, as Time points out, it’s not unprecedented. The site previously removed a video of a 19-year-old’s murder outside a nightclub, after a massive online outcry. Considering Louis C.K.’s fervent, loyal fan base, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he could whip up a similar frenzy.
In the meantime, at the very least, it’s already produced this gem of a response from Idiocracy star Dax Shepard.