Actor Demian Bichir, whose wife Stefanie Sherk died April 20, tore into Telemundo and the Daily Mail on Friday, accusing the media outlets of “despicable acts” in the wake of his wife’s death and telling the outlets, “You are absolutely heartless.”
On his Instagram account, Bichir — who on Friday asked for people’s “understanding in allowing us to grieve in peace and privacy in this sad and difficult times [sic]” — later shared videos of people identifying themselves as being from Telemundo and the Daily Mail, approaching Bichir’s home seeking comment.
Both requests were denied, but Bichir had much to say in his Instagram post Friday.
“This is what happens when you ask for respect and privacy for your pain, sorrow and grief. These people have no shame, no decency and no scruples. They shamelessly say ‘our people,’ la Raza, mis paisanos ‘want to know,’” Bichir wrote.
The actor continued, “False. Our people are way more sensible to other people’s pain that [sic] this media will ever be. They cover their shameless acts behind our people. They don’t represent our people. Our people are good and decent.”
Bichir went on to warn the media in general, “it’s important that you know that cameras are running fully 24/7 in our property and we will take legal action against any invasion of our privacy. We should be able to grieve peacefully instead of dealing with these despicable acts. Once again, the only comments we will make will be posted on this account.”
Bichir concluded, “Shame on you @telemundo and @dailymail You are absolutely heartless.”
In a statement to TheWrap, a spokesperson for Telemundo said, “We would like to express our deepest respect to the Bichir family at this difficult moment, and to apologize if they felt offended. Our objective has always been to conduct our news-gathering in a professional manner.”
A representative for the Daily Mail has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Bichir said on Instagram on Wednesday night that Sherk, a Canadian model and actress known for work on “CSI: Cyber” and in the rom-com “Valentine’s Day,” passed away peacefully on April 20.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s report, obtained by TheWrap, said that Sherk died by suicide. The specific causes of death were anoxic encephalopathy (brain deprived of oxygen), asphyxia, and drowning.
“It has been the saddest and toughest time of our lives and we don’t know how much time it will take for us to overcome this pain,” Bichir said in a post. “Stefanie’s beautiful, angelical and talented presence will be immensely missed. We will hold Stefanie in our hearts forever.”
See Bichir’s message to the media below.