Comedy Central has pulled an old episode of cartoon series Legends of Chamberlain Heights because it depicted Kobe Bryant dying as the result of a helicopter crash.
The episode, titled 'End of Days', was first shown in 2016, but the channel tweeted to say that it would be taking the episode off air after the former NBA star tragically died in an accident on Sunday.
The show's official account posted: "Out of respect for Kobe and his family we have removed the clip of him and ask that you please don't share it.
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"RIP Kobe and Gigi Bryant and everyone else who died in the helicopter crash today."
Creator of the show, Josiah Johnson, posted a personal apology from his own Twitter account.
In the screenshotted explanation, he said the the joke was intended to 'highlight Kobe's reputation for not passing' but added they went 'too far'.
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He continued: "This was a collaborative effort by our writers' room, which included Kobe, LeBron and MJ fans and was in no way meant to be a prediction of the tragic event that transpired.
"Upon learning the news of Kobe's passing, I immediately reached out to Comedy Central and asked that the episode be taken down, in addition to deleting the clip off the show's social media accounts."
Basketball star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in California on 26 January, at the age of 41. All nine people aboard the aircraft were killed, including Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's wife and Gianna's mother, made her first statement about the accident on social media on Wednesday (29 January).
Bryant and 'Gigi' were on their way to the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, for basketball practice at the time of the incident.
Topics: US News
