HOLLYWOOD, CA  --  Massive protests from friends and colleagues of deceased actor Heath Ledger have stopped two U.S. celebrity television shows from airing a video that allegedly shows Ledger discussing drug use at a wild party in a Los Angeles hotel two years ago.

The video, originally scheduled to air on the Thursday issues of "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider," was rumored to show Ledger talking about drug use at the party in January 2006 at the Chateau Marmont hotel on Hollywood's Sunset Strip.

Ledger was not shown taking drugs, although others can be seen in grainy footage apparently snorting a substance off a table. A person who has seen the entire video, said Ledger then points to his tattoo of "M" (for his daughter, Matilda Rose) and says: "This is to remind me never to smoke weed again.''

Even some celebrities themselves - Natalie Portman and Sarah Jessica Parker, to name a couple - called to urge the TV shows not to air the video.

"This is not journalism, it is sensationalism. It is a shameful exploitation of the lowest kind, to a talented and gentle soul, undeserving of such treatment," said an email from Los Angeles-based ID-PR, in a bid to rally Hollywood against the airing of the footage.

Last update: 02-01-2008 14:32