Netflix to Remove Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster Footage From ‘Bird Box’

Netflix has decided to remove footage of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster from the 2018 film Bird Box. “Netflix and the filmmakers of ‘Bird Box’ have decided to replace the clip. We’re sorry for any pain caused to the Lac-Megantic community,” the subscription streaming service said in a statement, per TheWrap. 

The Sandra Bullock-led project received backlash over the movie’s use of actual images of the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy where a 74-car freight train carrying Bakken oil went off the tracks, exploded, and killed 47 people in Quebec, Canada. Netflix initially refused to remove the clip, which was obtained as stock footage through the third party company Pond5. The same clip was also used in the Netflix show Travelers, but was removed a while ago.

Netflix would later issue an apology in a letter to the Canadian minister of culture and communications after the company was condemned for its use of the Lac-Mégantic disaster footage following a unanimous vote by the Canadian Parliament. Netflix continued its mea culpa tour by reaching out to the mayor of Lac-Mégantic, Julie Morin. 

“They’ve committed to reflecting with their partners on the use of these images so that the situation does not repeat itself,” Morin said in a statement, per the Associated Press. “We also felt they were sensitive to our citizens’ recovery. I’m satisfied with this exchange.” 

Even though Netflix reached this decision some time after the public outcry first arose, Quebec’s minister of culture and communications Nathalie Roy commended the company’s change of heart. 

“The move was expected by respect for the victims of this horrible tragedy, their families and the entire community of Lac-Mégantic,” Roy said in the above tweet, according to TheWrap. “This result shows that by being united and pooling our efforts, everything is possible.”