10 Times WWE Went Too Far
4. The Melanie Pillman Interview
Brian Pillman passed away the day he was supposed to wrestle Dude Love at In Your House 18: Badd Blood. It was an awful situation, with the 35-year-old suffering a heart attack in his hotel room.
He was survived by his wife Melanie. The duo were going through divorce proceedings at the time, though Melanie claimed that it was supposed to be a wake-up call her husband, who'd been living in the family basement. Regardless, that WWE put this grieving widow on WWE television the night after Brian's passing was nothing short of heartless.
Melanie Pillman was subjected to an intense grilling from Vince McMahon, whose only intention was to absolve his company of any blame for his passing. "Have you had any opportunity to think of what you, as a single parent, will do to support your children?" he asked, live on TV, with Brian's body not yet cold, then prodded her on her husband's reported painkiller addiction. The message was simple: he was out to prove that Brian's death was on Brian, in the most tasteless manner imaginable.
Even worse is that WWE used this as a ratings grab, holding the interview in Raw's second hour after a night of near-nonstop promotion.