"Breaking Bad" fans host fake funeral for Walter White in real cemetery

The charity stunt, which raised $17K for a local homeless organization, has upset many grieving families

Published October 20, 2013 9:28PM (EDT)

     (Eyewitness News 4 KOB)
(Eyewitness News 4 KOB)

This weekend in Albuquerque, N.M., fans held a funeral to say goodbye to "Breaking Bad" anti-hero Walter White and raise $17,000 for a local charity that provides health care and support services to the city's homeless population.

The only problem with the stunt was that organizers hosted the fake funeral in a real cemetery, leaving many local families angry that their place of mourning was turned into a tourist attraction.

Participants paid to throw dirt on the character's empty coffin, which was placed in a real gravesite and featured a real headstone.

“My son is buried about 15 yards from where the makeshift gravesite is,” Manuel Montano told a local news station.

Montanto and others have requested that the headstone be removed to prevent tourists from pilgrimaging to the cemetery.

“This is a place of mourning,” Montano said. “It’s not a spectacle.”

h/t Gawker


By Katie McDonough

Katie McDonough is Salon's politics writer, focusing on gender, sexuality and reproductive justice. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salon.com.

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