What’s the story?
Parody news website ‘The Onion’ is now reportedly on the receiving end of severe criticism, owing to an article published by them about WWE officials literally killing the Big Show.
Apparently, the article intends to take a shot on the infamous incident where a gorilla named Harambe was shot dead to protect a toddler who had entered the confinements where the animal was housed.
In case you didn’t know...
The controversial killing of Harambe took place on May 28th last year when a 3-year-old boy fell into the Gorilla moat at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.
The 440 pound (200 kg) Harambe was a Western lowland gorilla and had apparently grabbed the toddler, following which an official at the zoo shot the gorilla dead.
The heart of the matter
The aforementioned incident was a hot topic of debate that was covered by several mainstream outlets, and the debate raged on among environmentalists, animal activists and several others.
Fast-forward to the here-and-now, and we have yet another controversy underway, as The Onion (a famous parody news website) published a satirical article with WWE Superstar Big Show as Harambe and recreated the killing of the latter as the killing of Big Show at the hands of WWE officials. Here are a few excerpts from the article-
“Last night, after determining he posed a clear threat to a young boy who had entered the steel cage, we chose to end the life of one of our wrestlers,” a fake WWE spokesperson named Chris Bellitti is quoted as saying in the article. “It is a tragedy anytime something like this happens, but luckily we can say a child is alive today thanks to the swift and appropriate measures taken by our WWE staff.”
“While lethal force is always a last resort, the reality is that we were dealing with a very large adult—one of our strongest males,” Bellitti added. “A tranquillizer could have taken five, even 10, minutes to bring down a wrestler that size, and it likely would have made him even angrier in the meantime. We simply couldn’t risk waiting any longer to act.”
The joke article has received harsh criticism online not only from the professional wrestling community but also from the people who do not follow pro-wrestling.
What’s next?
As of the time of this writing the website is yet to take down the article, that is if they ever intend to do it. Meanwhile, the WWE is yet to issue an official statement on the issue.
Author’s take
I’m all for humour, but the Harambe-Big Show killing piece does seem a little out of place so to speak. I mean are we seriously going to joke about an animal that died a tragic death, not to mention the child whose life could have been in jeopardy?
Send us news tips at [email protected]
