Adrianne Haslet-Davis storms off ‘Meet the Press’; marathon victim felt ‘disrespected’

A survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing stormed out of a scheduled interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” in tears on Friday.

Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a dancer who lost part of one leg during the attack, said NBC promised not to name alleged bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev in her presence but did not follow through on the request.

She tweeted after the incident:

• I feel so disrespected @meetthepress I asked politely yesterday and you said yes. Now you choose to use the name instead.

• Cannot believe @meetthepress chose to use the bombers name instead of respect their guest. Had to walk off set crying.

• Let’s change the dialect to honor the survivors and not focus on the criminals. Shame on you @meetthepress.

---

SEE ALSO: Boston Marathon bombing hero cop dies; Obama was set to honor his bravery in May

---

She later followed up with a post on her website:

To whom it may concern,

I need to follow up on what I expressed to the coordinator, the host and the executive producer before I left the studio.

I needn’t apologize for leaving you this morning, as you made your decision. I am not one to ask for people to wait on me hand and foot, for people to bend over backwards and leave their own well being to take care of mine…this is not my character nor is it my intent.

But I did specifically ask of two things for this interview, one being that his name (and you know to whom I refer to) not be mentioned in my presence. Your decision to back out on that promise you made and the horrific way you brought that decision to my attention just minutes prior to taping was not only a cowardice move but a dishonorable one as well. To say that I am hurt is an understatement, for you not only disrespected me, you disrespected the survivors of the bombing and the victims memories by blatantly disregarding this request and putting the value of a terrorist’s name, who put a city in turmoil and caused irrevocable damage physically and emotionally to people of this city, over Boston’s integrity, fortitude, and my personal well being.

My second request you know of, to be referred to as a survivor, not a victim. This one you honored, but I think you forget what a victim truly is defined as. For I will not be a victim, not on anyones level, whether it be from a terrorist, or the press.

Adrianne

NBC News released the following statement Friday evening:

“Adrianne Haslet-Davis is an inspiring survivor with an important story to share. She was due to take part in a roundtable discussion for Meet the Press with three other participants. She requested that the alleged bombers’ names not be used in the entire program, but given the nature of the discussion we couldn’t make that guarantee. We regret any distress caused by this miscommunication.”