Actress Valerie Bertinelli and her son, Wolfgang Van Halen have called out the producers of the documentary series “Autopsy: The Last Hours of . . .,” an episode of which will air on Sunday and will supposedly describe in detail the death of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen in October of 2020 at the age of 65 following a long bout with throat cancer.

Van Halen’s ex-wife and “One Day at a Time” star Bertinelli, 62, and her Grammy-nominated son slammed @ReelzChannel on Twitter for their plans to air the episode.

**Language Warning**

“F – – k @ReelzChannel. F – – k everyone that works on this show, and f – – k you if you watch it.” Wolfgang wrote.

He continued, “F – – king disgusting trying to glamorize someone’s death from cancer. Pathetic and heartless.” Under his tweet, Bertinelli replied, “Good Christ this is disgusting.”

The uncensored tweet can be viewed here.

On Thursday, Reelz released a statement in defense of the upcoming episode:

“Autopsy: The Last Hours of . . . ‘ responsibly explores the circumstances of the passing of well known and genuinely loved celebrities who the public cares about immensely,” the statement began.

“The REELZ series generates much feedback from our viewers ranging from medical professionals who praise its scientific accuracy, fans who tell us it provides closure or that they have become more proactive for the benefit of their health and many who gain helpful perspective of health issues that might not otherwise receive attention,” they asserted.

The network cited their investigations into the deaths of other beloved celebrities as further justification, including “Karen Carpenter who brought anorexia into the public consciousness, Prince whose passing focused attention on the opioid epidemic and Luke Perry whose passing renewed attention to strokes that affect people of all ages.”

Although they avoided mentioning Van Halen’s name in their statement of defense, the official synopsis of the episode explains that forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter will be analyzing “every detail of [Van Halen’s] life in order to piece together what else may have been going on in his body, ultimately leading to his untimely death.”

“If caught early Eddie’s disease had reasonable survival rates, so what exactly happened?” the description inquired.

Eddie Van Halen’s prodigious talent on guitar is known the world over. Netherland-born Eddie and his brother Alex formed Van Halen after David Lee Roth was asked to sing for one of their earlier band projects. At one point, they called themselves Genesis, but they soon found out the name was already in use by a certain British band.

In their youth, it was Alex who played guitar and Eddie who played drums. Alex, however, is said to have secretly become proficient on drums while Eddie was working a paper route to pay off the drum set. They summarily switched instruments and the rest is history.

Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Bertinelli and Van Halen were married from 1981 until 2007. Wolfgang, 31, is their only child.

Reactions to Wolfgang Van Halen’s Twitter post were a mixed bag:

This show covers many different celebrities so don’t get your panties in a wad. They aren’t just targeting Eddie.

— OG_1970s_Gamer (@Slipkid6975) May 31, 2022

He was sick for awhile, we really need to know what his last hours were like? I’ll pass on this one

— John Q. Public (@thegymguru) June 1, 2022

Lots of people bitching, but I bet this episode gets more viewers than any other in the series.

— Mark Lipsett (@LipsettMark) May 31, 2022

Not nice. Sorry wolf. They just want eyeballs, ears and ratings. Hard pass!

— Johann_Peters (@JohannPeters1) June 1, 2022

I’ve watched other episodes like Hugh Hefner and Tom Petty all it is is the persons history life and medical with I assume public domain footage with some actor doing re-enactments. Most times they even interview people who knew the decedent…

— William Groves (@zombiez43) June 1, 2022

I’ll watch it because I find it interesting when I can learn anything about one’s health and cancer. Especially if it’s done in a respectful manner. The family must have worked with them or they wouldn’t be able to get the body of information to that detail.

— Michael Cleveland (@Michael70486494) June 2, 2022

I watch this show they don’t glamorize death. They simply explain the autopsy which is public record. They have done so many famous people and not surprising you are the first family member to make a big deal about it. Sometimes the family members are on the show.

— Moon_Child_210 (@moon_child_210) June 2, 2022

Eddie’s music and impact on rock will last far longer than any trash TV tabloid “documentary” made without the family’s blessing will. Just sorry you all have to deal with this. Sending blessings your way. Rock on!

— Dan Švehla (@djs8686) June 2, 2022

I lost my dad to cancer last year. I spent his dying moments with him. It’s not nice. It’s not glamorous. It’s not fun watching a body shut down. This is 100% unnecessary

— Scottland2007 (@Scottland2007) June 1, 2022

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Frank Webster

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Frank (Chip) Webster is a musician and composer, former teacher of percussion and U.S. Army Infantry veteran. He holds a degree in English from Arizona State University.

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