Reelz is debuting "Autopsy: The Last Hours of Eddie Van Halen" on Sunday.
update: 12:25PM PT June 2 2022
REELZ provided the following statement with general information about the series:
Autopsy: The Last Hours of... responsibly explores the circumstances of the passing of well known and genuinely loved celebrities who the public cares about immensely. The REELZ series generates much feedback from our viewers ranging from medical professionals who praise its scientific accuracy, fans who tell us it provides closure or that they have become more proactive for the benefit of their health and many who gain helpful perspective of health issues that might not otherwise receive attention like Karen Carpenter who brought anorexia into the public consciousness, Prince whose passing focused attention on the opioid epidemic and Luke Perry whose passing renewed attention to strokes that affect people of all ages.
original story below: 12:39AM PT June 2 2022
Eddie Van Halen passed away after a battle with throat cancer in 2020 at just 65 years old. Two years later, Reelz is launching a documentary about his death -- and his ex-wife and son are not happy about it.
Eddie's son with Valerie Bertinelli, Wolfgang, shared his outrage with a scathing Twitter post on Wednesday calling out the network and basically anyone involved in the film from production to audience.
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View Story"F--- @ReelzChannel, f--- everyone that works on this show, and f--- you if you watch it. F------ disgusting trying to glamorize someone’s death from cancer. Pathetic and heartless," he wrote.
Among the comments is one from mom Valerie, who added, "Good Christ this is disgusting." TooFab has reached out to Reelz for comment on these reactions.
According to the network, "Autopsy: The Last Hours of Eddie Van Halen" will explore the "darker undercurrent that would plague Eddie throughout his life" that they say was "behind his contagious smile."
While the focal point of the documentary may be on his final hours, it's also going to explore his life and career, including his "addiction issues over four decades," even drawing into question how Eddie died from what is described as a disease with "reasonable survival rates."
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View StoryAs such, the documentary touts bringing in a "world renowned forensic pathologist" to dig into Eddie's complete life and story to see "what else may have been going on in his body, ultimately leading to his untimely death."
With a description like that, this is being presented as something different than just a retrospective of Eddie's life and career and tragic death, which certainly appears to be why both Wolfgang and Valerie are so staunchly against it.
Fans rallied behind the mother-and-son duo with messages of support on both Wolfgang's initial post as well as Valerie's comment, with others defending the show, explaining that the network only uses publicly available information for these programs.
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View StorySo so sorry y'all! I never saw it and by your responses, I'm not even gonna look! God Bless you two! We are with you!! 🙏❤️🙏🌹
— @nunyabizz677 (@nunyabizz6773) June 1, 2022 @nunyabizz6773
You two must've never seen this show before because it doesn't
— BravoBravoFnBravo (@TruthOfBravo) June 1, 2022 @TruthOfBravo
"glamorize" or make up or embellish anything. It explains what is exactly reported on public record Autopsy!
Spot on, Wolf. Watched my Mom go this way, cannot imagine what it would be like if someone sensationalized it. I would never watch it anyway, thanks for putting this out there.
— Glen R Harper (@GlenRHarper) June 1, 2022 @GlenRHarper
The show has been on for awhile now so they have all their legal bases covered. They only use what information is public knowledge and don’t air anybody’s private medical information
— OG_1970s_Gamer (@Slipkid6975) June 1, 2022 @Slipkid6975
I had never heard about this documentary until reading your tweets.
— ~VViseguy~ (@MrWiseGuy2U) June 2, 2022 @MrWiseGuy2U
If a restaurant had really bad food would you buy a bunch of takeout to serve to friends and family to prove how bad it is⁉️
You literally gave this documentary free advertising.
Definitely would NEVER watch this! Sorry you have to go through stuff like this, Wolf!
— Kelly 😷 💉 💪 *I STAND WITH BETO* (@loherladie) June 1, 2022 @loherladie
Agreed.
— Monty Milne (@MontyMilne) June 1, 2022 @MontyMilne
This is not a show about a person's final hours, but a celebration of his or her entire life; the story from birth to death.
I would encourage others to watch the show rather than throw it under the bus without seeing the context.
Don't judge a book by its cover
If a member of the family doesn’t want me to watch it, and thinks it’s horrible, I’ll pass thanks.
— Patrick Johnson (@daddywrites) June 1, 2022 @daddywrites
I totally understand your feelings on This. I won’t watch it. I personally think it’s in bad taste to even put this out there. 💔 we miss our Eddie 💔 Those of us that have been fans already know what happened. Wolfgang, from a mom of 2 awesome boys… Sending you (((Hugs)))
— Shawnda M Coe (@coecreations) June 2, 2022 @coecreations
If it’s really a show about one’s life, as opposed to their final moments, the title is horribly misleading and a poor choice.
— Bradley Todd Photography (@MrBradleyTodd) June 1, 2022 @MrBradleyTodd
Your dad raised a hell of a good young man. I don't need to watch this. I let his musical legacy tell his story. God bless you and your family!
— David Kenneth Allen (@GaloofDavid) June 1, 2022 @GaloofDavid
"Autopsy: The Last Hours of Eddie Van Halen" premieres this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Reelz.