Hulu apologises for promoting Breonna Taylor documentary on day officers were indicted over her death
Hulu has apologised for promoting a documentary about Breonna Taylor as it was announced that the police officer who shot her would not be charged with murder.
Taylor died in March after being shot by police while she slept in her home, with her death providing a further catalyst for the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.
On Wednesday (23 September), Officer Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment after the bullets travelled into a neighbours apartment, rather than murder for Taylor’s death. Two other officers were cleared.
The decision sparked outcry acoss the world, with a number of high profile figures speaking out against the ruling.
Just after the announcement was made, streaming service Hulu shared a tweet promoting their documentary The Killing of Breonna Taylor, which was made in partnership with FX and The New York Times and debuted on the platform on 4 September.
In one of the since-deleted posts, Hulu tweeted: “Breonna Taylor's life was changing. Then the police came to her door. #NYTPresents: The Killing of Breonna Taylor traces the missteps of the deadly raid. #FXonHulu.”
The streaming service later apologised, writing: “Earlier today, we promoted content that we felt would be meaningful in light of today’s events. That was, quite simply, the wrong call.
“We've taken the posts down and are deeply sorry. Thank you for holding us accountable – we will learn from this.”
However, activists shared their disgust at Hulu, accusing them of using Taylor’s trending name to promote their own project.
Earlier today, we promoted content that we felt would be meaningful in light of today’s events. That was, quite simply, the wrong call. We've taken the posts down and are deeply sorry. Thank you for holding us accountable – we will learn from this.
— Hulu (@hulu) September 24, 2020
“Y’all took ADVANTAGE of her name trending and HER STORY for YOUR RATINGS!!! If y’all wanted to do something meaningful you would have said JUSTICE FOR BREONNA TAYLOR,” one critic responded. “Is her family even involved in this ‘documentary’ or did y’all do this to hop on the ‘we care’ trend?!?!”
“It's almost like businesses don’t actually care about people’s feelings and are only sorry when they’re caught,” another wrote. “Weird, right?”
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