Fam Mad Real Bad: True Crime Shows Painting Shooter as the Victim, Deadass?
Lauren Kanarek's people sayin' Netflix and CBS trippin', tryna make the dude who shot her look like he innocent, but it ain't passin' the vibe check.

Aight, lemme break it down for y'all, straight no chaser. This ain't no cap. Lauren Kanarek, this sister from Jersey, got shot by this Olympic equestrian dude, Michael Barisone, back in '19. She survived, but her family's hot 'cause these true crime shows, like Netflix's "Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill" and CBS's "48 Hours," tryna flip the script, makin' it seem like he the victim. Nah, son, that ain't the way it went down.
This dude Barisone blasted her twice in the chest, and she LUCKILY pulled thru. He got arrested, charged wit' attempted murder, the whole nine. But then, in '22, the jury said he was crazy and let him go to a mental hospital. Year later, he out. Now these shows tryna gas him up? Word?
Her pops, Jonathan Kanarek, said the portrayal was "defamatory about Lauren." Said they was "flabbergasted" by how CBS did her dirty. They makin' her look like she deserved it or sumthin'. That's messed up on a whole other level.
And get this, these shows opened the door for all kinds of online hate. People throwin' shade, sendin' threats, the whole nine. She gettin' hate mail sayin' she should be dead. Real talk, that's some wild isht. These true crime shows be feedin' the trolls, makin' it okay to harass folks. It ain't right.
Lauren's lawyer, Steven Beer, said these shows ain't doin' nothin' to advocate for victims. He said they asked Netflix for a screener before the show dropped so Lauren could brace herself for the drama, but Netflix straight-up said NO. Cold blooded.
"We asked Netflix and Propagate for a copy of the screener of the film beforehand so we could help Lauren manage her anxiety,” Beer said. “And they turned us down, [which was] just shocking. So that certainly was a confirmation of what we could expect.”
These big corporations, they don't care 'bout people, they care 'bout money. They'll twist the story any way they can to get views and make a profit, even if it means re-traumatizing a survivor. It's a dirty game.
It's all about the Benjamins, man. These corporations gon' milk the story dry, and the ones who really suffer are the victims, the ones who gotta live with the consequences. It's time for these shows to be held accountable. They need to start tellin' these stories right. Real talk.
This situation shows how the system be workin'. They got the platforms, they got the narratives, and they can shape public opinion however they want. We gotta stay woke and call 'em out when they ain't keepin' it 100. It's on us to amplify the voices of the victims and make sure their stories are heard.
We gotta protect each other, man. Especially the Black and Brown folks who always gettin' the short end of the stick. We gotta support survivors and make sure they get the resources they need to heal and rebuild their lives. It's a community effort, and we all gotta do our part.
So next time you watchin' one of these true crime shows, ask yourself, who's really benefitin' from this? Is this helpin' the victims, or just lining the pockets of some corporation? Stay woke, y'all. Stay woke.
Sources:
* Morris County Court Records (for the facts) * Netflix's "Untold" (for the L) * CBS's "48 Hours" (for the extra L)


