Monday July 5, 2010
Jimmy Kimmel Light Crew Burns Pro-Life Teen, Producers Apologize
By Kathleen Gilbert
LOS ANGELES, July 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A light crew working for ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel drew the fury of pro-lifers in Los Angeles after the crew burned a pro-life teenage protester with a stage light. After protests were staged demanding an apology, the producers of the comedy show apologized and said they would not hire the same light crew again, according to reports.
The conflict began on June 25 when the light crew encountered members of the Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, who were displaying graphic abortion signs and handing out literature outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
The pro-lifers claim that the Survivors were not interfering with the filming, which was being carried out on the other side of the street. A source from the light crew cited by Examiner.com’s Scott Wampler says that it was true that the crew was shooting across the street, but the scene, involving Tom Cruise zip lining over Hollywood Boulevard, involved the other side of the street as well.
“We obviously had a permit to put lights there and light the shoot location,” wrote the anonymous source, adding that the protesters claimed that the lights were being directed at them, rather than the scene, “to make it all about themselves.”
But a video posted by the Survivors of LA shows a high-intensity stage light being directed upon teenage Survivor Ryan Bueler, who was standing with a pro-life sign only a few feet away from the light. A scuffle ensued and police were summoned after one of the pro-life witnesses, after repeatedly asking the crew to move the light, attempted to move it himself. According to the Survivors, Bueler suffered minor burns from the heat of the light, which partially melted a plastic bracelet he was wearing.
The Survivors say they waited for an apology for a few days before over 100 Survivors held peaceful demonstrations outside Kimmel’s home June 30 and July 1st. When no apology was forthcoming, four Survivors secured free tickets to a live taping of the show, where they interrupted the show to demand an apology before being escorted out by police. The survivors were handcuffed and detained for over an hour as other Survivors stood outside the studio chanting, “let our people go.”
According to the Survivors’ press release: “After much negotiation between Survivors and one of the producers for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel’s producers promised Rev. Patrick Mahoney and Joseph Slovenec that Jimmy Kimmel Live would never hire the assaulting light crew again and LAPD released the four handcuffed ‘Survivors.'”
“Survivors refused to have their message oppressed and persevered in standing for the rights to ‘Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ that are clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence,” said Timmerie Millington, Survivors’ spokesperson, in a press release dated July 4. “The Survivors defend life and liberty for preborn children in the womb, and will continue to do so despite the pressure to be silent.” The group thanked Kimmel for promising not to hire the crew.
LifeSiteNews.com’s requests to verify the accounts with Millington and ABC spokesperson Aime Wolfe were unanswered as of press time.