FX revealed the news in a statement on Monday, one day before episode six airs on the network at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
The latest episode of American Horror Story: Cult has been heavily edited following the deadly mass shooting that occurred in Las Vegas last weekend.
FX revealed in a statement on Monday that they were making substantial changes to a massacre scene that was originally supposed to take place at the beginning of episode six.
"In light of the tragedy last week in Las Vegas, [creator] Ryan Murphy and the producers of American Horror Story: Cult have chosen to make substantial edits to the opening scene of tomorrow night’s episode," the statement said. "This opening, which was filmed two months ago and which portrays an occurrence of gun violence that has sadly become all too common in our country, contains a sequence that some viewers might find traumatic."
ET got a sneak peek look at the scene that has since been cut, and "traumatic" is an accurate description. It showed Evan Peters' character, Kai Anderson, giving a speech at a campaign rally, when someone pulls out a gun and opens fire, killing and injuring a number of people in attendance. While it appears Ally Mayfair-Richards (Sarah Paulson) is responsible for the massacre, it's revealed at the end of the episode that it was actually a different character who pulls the trigger.
Those who tune into AHS: Cult Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX will see the new, edited version of episode six, but the network revealed the original, unedited version of the episode "will be available on the VOD platform of your cable, satellite or telco provider, as well as on the FX Networks non-linear platforms, FXNOW and FX+."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy spoke during a New Yorker Festival discussion over the weekend, where he opened up about his decision to make the scene less graphic.
"Nobody ever talks about victims' rights," he explained. "That's sort of a weird emotional discussion that's never bridged. But I felt great sympathy for people who were affected, certainly, and family members and loved ones and people who are upset about the way the world is. Should you air it? Should you not air it? How do you be sensitive?"
"My point of view was I believe I have the right to air it, but I also believe in victims' rights, and I believe that now is probably not the week to have something explosive or incendiary in the culture because someone who was affected might watch that and it could trigger something or make them feel upset," he added. "So our decision was to re-edit it and I felt that that was the right move."
As previously reported, a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort as country music star Jason Aldean was performing to a crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. The shooting left 58 dead and over 500 injured.
Hear more on the tragedy in the video below.
