PBS' Decision to Air Taped Fireworks Display Angers Viewers
One user on social media called it "the Milli Vanilli of fireworks."
— -- TV viewers vented on social media after PBS aired a pretaped July 4 fireworks display Monday in lieu of live footage.
The sky was overcast Monday night in Washington, D.C., so PBS chose instead to air what it called "a combination of the best fireworks from this year and previous years," a decision greeted with mostly derision by its audience.
One user on social media called it "the Milli Vanilli of fireworks," a reference to the R&B duo that admitted to not singing the vocals on its 1988 hit record.
Others scoffed at what they perceived to be an effort to deceive viewers about the weather conditions over Washington, implying that the decision was condescending to the public by sheltering it from the disappointment of a rainy Fourth of July.
Some viewers, however, defended PBS for not showing fireworks obscured by cloud cover.
PBS did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for a comment about the decision, but tweeted an apology for creating "confusion" during the broadcast.