Netflix Promises To Remove Controversial ‘Bird Box’ Footage Months After A Public Outcry

Netflix’s Bird Box captured an enormous number of eyeballs over the holidays and through January, and although the streaming service’s newest A-lister movie, Triple Frontier, has now seized the moment, there’s still be a lingering issue for those who took umbrage with a key Bird Box scene. That would be the moment when Bullock’s character clicks through TV channels amid the unfolding apocalypse and lands upon a real-life train disaster — of the 2013 Quebec Lac-Megantic tragedy (47 people died, and much of the surrounding town suffered heavy damage from the resulting, widespread fire).

As of mid-January, Netflix declined to remove the offending footage, but the streaming service has decided to switch game plans. As both BBC and Canadian Press reveal, a Netflix spokesperson has now issued a brief statement: “We’re sorry for any pain caused to the Lac-Mégantic community.”

Netflix plans to replace the footage in question with “an outtake from a TV series,” but the process is expected to take “several weeks.” On Thursday, Quebec’s culture minister, Natahlie Roy, tweeted a message of gratitude, including her sentiment that Netflix’s decision “demonstrates that by staying united and working together, anything is possible.”

— Nathalie Roy (@NathalieRoyCAQ) March 14, 2019

There’s no indication of why Netflix has decided to make this move now, although to be fair, they may have still had a headache from having to warn people not to do the “Bird Box challenge” involving potentially dangerous actions while blindfolded. YouTube later banned videos to that effect.