NBC Is Being Sued Over Heroes Garbage Disposal Scene

In a scene from Heroes, a woman sticks her hand into the disposal to retrieve a ring. When she removed her hand from the disposal, it's a mangled and bloody mess. The Heroes garbage disposal scene has upset the makers of the In-Sink-Erator garbage disposer, and they are suing NBC.

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The company that makes In-Sink-Erator garbage disposal is suing NBC, claiming that an episode of the show “Heroes” makes the product look bad. Appliance maker Emerson filed the lawsuit in a St. Louis federal court Monday, seeking to block rebroadcasts of the Heroes garbage disposal scene in the show’s pilot episode.

The Heroes Garbage Disposal Scene

In the Heroes garbage disposal episode, a high-school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere) who has the ability to withstand injury sticks her hand into an In-Sink-Erator while it’s running, mangling her fingers (which return to normal within a few seconds).

Emerson’s suit claims the scene “casts the disposer in an unsavory light, irreparably tarnishing the product” by suggesting that serious injuries will result “in the event consumers were to accidentally insert their hand into one.”

You can watch the controversial episode of Heroes at NBC’s website.