I sent the following letter to Lorne Michaels, producer of Saturday Night Live. In April SNL aired an offensive parody of a commercial for a product called "Heroin AM". I wrote Mr. Michaels and informed him of my displeasure at the time. I received no response. I will continue to pursue him until such time as I receive a proper response. Here is the letter I wrote for International Overdose Awareness Day.
William H. Williams
220 West 98th
Street
Apartment 5-A
New York, NY 10025
August 31, 2016
Mr. Lorne
Michaels
Saturday
Night Live
30
Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY
10112
Dear Mr.
Michaels:
On April 17th of this year I wrote to you
expressing my dismay over SNL’s ill conceived “Heroin AM” satire. Here is the link to what I posted on my
blog to help refresh your memory:
I was not alone in my disappointment, as you must be
aware. My friend Marcia Lee
Taylor, President and CEO of Partnership for Drug Free Kids wrote you, along
with many others, including numerous readers of my blog. That blog piece continues to attract
attention daily. As of this
writing, there have been 21,685 hits. Clearly you struck a raw nerve. Nor has the pain subsided.
Why do I write you now? August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day. It seems an appropriate day to remind
you that the epidemic, which kills 129 Americans daily, has not diminished. If anything, it gets worse.
As
I’ve reflected with friends wiser than I on my initial letter to you, I’ve
tried to come up with a more positive message. I was struck by something Ms.
Taylor wrote you: “…we don’t need
parodies, we need solutions and resources. We need influencers like you, who
have worked side by side with people affected by addiction, to join us in
insisting that attention be paid, and resources devoted to preventing and
healing this disease.”
In
honor of your SNL colleagues who have succumbed to addiction, in honor of my
son William, I ask that you and I find a time when we might meet to discuss
solutions and resources. I write
in the hope that together we might help direct the proper and necessary
attention to preventing and healing this disease.
Without
such attention the disease and the epidemic will not go away. Please understand that my goal is to be
positive and productive; the time for me to scold you is past. The time to act is before us. I can be patient. I am persistent. You need to know I’ve spoken before
three Congressional committees, once before a U. S. Senate Addiction Forum, and
addressed scientists and administrators at the National Institute on Drug Abuse
at the invitation of its director, Dr. Nora Volkow. In addition I’ve spoken to community groups and
schools. I will not rest until we
have effected change in the battle against this disease. I will not rest until I have had a
chance to engage you in this endeavor.
I
am happy to come to you at a time and place most convenient for you. I look forward to your response. Said response would be the best
personal outcome I could imagine as a result of International Overdose Awareness
Day.
Respectfully
yours,
Bill
Williams
Cc: Stephen
B. Burke
Marcia
Lee Taylor
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