‘Siesta Key’ Premiere Party Canceled Amidst Reported Death Threats Against Star Alex Kompothecras

MTV canceled a screening party for the new reality show Siesta Key after death threats were made against the show’s biggest star, Alex Kompothecras, on Monday night.

The screening, which would have taken place in Sarasota, Florida, where the show was filmed, seemed potentially dangerous to organizers after they learned that online activists had not only planned to protest the show during the premiere, but were making death threats against Kompothecras, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

In the lead up to the show’s premiere, a video of Kompothecras and friends dragging a shark to death behind a boat had surfaced. The video enraged animal activists.

Siesta Key has been billed by the network as a mix between The Hills and Laguna Beach, and follows Kompothecras and seven of his wealthy friends as they live a hedonistic summer on the beaches of Siesta Key, Florida.

Kompothecras’ father, Dr. Gary Kompothecras, is the creator of the show and hoped that the depiction of his hometown would bring it great recognition, according to the Times.

Dr. Kompothecras, who is a popular local chiropractor, was frustrated by the cancelation of the party.

After telling a reporter from the Times that beyond the death threats, “there are other reasons [for the party’s cancelation],” he hung up.

The organizers of the protest – and potentially the source of the death threats – are the “Boycott Siesta Key MTV” Facebook page. The page was one of the first to uncover the video, which takes place on Kompothecras’ boat.

“Over the past few days, the connection between the production and the Siesta Key show and the horrific videos and photos of animal abuse have come to light,” one post on the page read. As of Tuesday morning, the page has a little over 8,000 followers.

Since reports of the death threats and the canceled party have surfaced, the “Boycott” page administrators have discouraged their followers from posting personal information of those involved in the video – one man, Michael Wenzel, was identified in the Miami Herald as being the main perpetrator of the animal abuse.

“Again, for those who haven’t seen my multiple posts or [page administrator] Ashley’s video, do NOT share any public addresses of the men involved,” a recent post on the page began. “We understand that this is PUBLIC, however, we are now being followed by local law enforcement due to innocent people receiving death threats because not all the information being shared is accurate. I don’t know how many more times I must say this: WE DO NOT AND WILL NOT CONDONE THREATS OF ANY KIND.”

The page has also distanced themselves from the movement they started, vowing not to show up to any protests and refrain from organizing any further action related to the boycott.