With the reality celebrity contestant Reeva Steenkamp reportedly shot in the head and killed, allegedly by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius the famous Olympic and paralympic runner early this morning, will SABC1 be pulling the fifth season of the Stimulii produced reality show Tropika Island of Treasure 5 in which Reeva Steenkamp appears and which is set to start on SABC1 in two days' time on Saturday 16 February?
UPDATE Thursday 14 February 2013 14:30 - SABC1 refuses to pull Tropika Island of Treasure 5 and is now responding and saying that the launch of the show on Saturday will go ahead with the broadcast of the first episode.
Reeva Steenkamp was a rising star on the celebrity scene - not yet A list - but a law graduate and a model who've appeared in FHM and moving up in the local celebrity circuit.
She's one of the contestants included in Samantha Moon's fifth season of the advertiser-funded production Tropika Island of Treasure 5 for SABC1. Reeva Steenkamp started dating Oscar Pistorius only a few months ago.
I have been on the phone this morning with the SABC, SABC1 as well as Stimullii - none knowing or willing to tell me whether Tropika Island of Treasure 5 will in fact be pulled from SABC1's schedule with immediate effect.
Insider sources however are telling me a decision will be made urgently on whether Tropika Island of Treasure 5 will remain on SABC1's schedule despite the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, and whether the premiere episode will be shown on Saturday or not.
According to the police a case of murder is being investigated. TV news channels immediately went into overdrive with the "Oscar Pistorius shooting and killing his girlfriend" story with breathless reporting. Oscar Pistorius in an interview last year with The Daily Mail told the British newspaper that he keeps a revolver by his bed and a machine gun by the window.
With the shocking and unexpected death of Reeva Steenkamp, the reality show and SABC1's plans have been thrown into turmoil. To continue with the show could be construed as highly insensitive; broadcasters and advertisers usually pull shows, episodes and adverts after characters or contestants die due to unexpected violent deaths in real-life out of sensitivity - such as that of Reeva Steenkamp.
It could be traumatising, embarrassing and inappropriate for many viewers to see Reeva Steenkamp on South African television screens on SABC1 in a tropical Jamaican reality show only two days after her shocking death this morning.
ALSO READ: M-Net and DStv immediately yanking all Oscar Pistorius ads and promos off the air; removing billboards as soon as possible.
"Everyone is very devastated and in a lot of shock right now," says Sarit Tomlinson, publicist for Reeva Steenkamp to Sky News. "We got to hear about it at 8 o clock this morning on the news."
She says Reeva Steenkamp "was the sweetest human being and an absolute angel on earth. She was the kindest most unbelievable girl." She said Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius have been a couple for a few months and called it a "happy, fabulous relationship". "At the moment it's shocking. No-one knows what happened."
"She was a rising star. There was so much in the pipeline for her. She was just about to explore into the media and very talented, a very bright young girl. It a huge loss for everyone and it's too shocking for words," Sarit Tomlinson said about Reeva Steenkamp.
"We are absolutely devastated at the tragic loss of Reeva Steenkamp, our friend and beloved member of the Tropika Island of Treasure 5 family," says Samantha Moon, the creator and executive producer of Tropika Island of Treasure in a just-issued statement.
"Reeva Steenkamp was a wonderful human being and an extremely talented and intelligent woman. Her kind and loving spirit was evident to all who knew her and her zest for life will be truly missed. We are blessed and privileged to have known her. Words cannot express how saddened we are by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with Reeva's family and friends."
