A backlash from advertisers and readers has prompted US gossip website TMZ to take down footage of a clubgoer being shot dead outside a Hollywood nightspot.
The website was condemned for publishing the two-minute video, which showed Andre Lowe being shot from close range in a brawl outside a nightclub in Los Angeles.
TMZ finally edited the video to remove footage of the shooting late on Thursday, after an online petition by Lowe's family topped 217,000 signatures. Change.org claimed the petition had prompted 25 companies – including Toyota, Sony Music, and Comedy Central – to pull advertising from the popular showbiz news site.
Jeremy Andrews, Lowe's uncle who earlier this week condemned TMZ in an interview with MediaGuardian, said he was glad the video had been edited but called on the website to apologise to his family.
"TMZ's sensationalist coverage of a regular teenager's tragic murder added salt to the wound for our family," he said.
"At the same time, we appreciate the support that has poured in from people across the country. While we're disappointed that TMZ ever made the decision to post this video and we still believe TMZ owes our family an apology for the pain they cause us, we're glad to see that the video has been edited due to the pressure from our petition on Change.org."
The video had been viewed thousands of times on TMZ and its YouTube page in the 11 days before it was edited. The original graphic video is still available on other websites.
Before it was edited, the video showed dozens of clubgoers throwing punches outside a Hollywood club before one man pulls out a gun and fires two shots. It then replays the incident in slow motion and shows a man in jeans and a black hooded top lying face down on the ground.
TMZ is one of the most popular entertainment and gossip websites in the US and has broken a number of Hollywood exclusives about the rich and the famous.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook
