The widow of one of seven crew members aboard the tragic space shuttle Challenger flight said she is "disappointed" that pop star Beyoncé included audio from the 1986 tragedy on a new, self-titled album,
according to NBCNews.
June Scobee Rogers, whose husband Dick Scobee perished along with the others 73 seconds after liftoff, issued the following statement in response to the song, titled "XO":
"We were disappointed to learn that an audio clip from the day we lost our heroic Challenger crew was used in the song 'XO'. The moment included in this song is an emotionally difficult one for the Challenger families, colleagues and friends. We have always chosen to focus not on how our loved ones were lost, but rather on how they lived and how their legacy lives on today."
Beyoncé on Monday released
the following response to ABC News:
"My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song 'XO' was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you.
"The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten," her statement said.
The love song is on an album released Dec. 13 on iTunes. It opens with former NASA public affairs officer Steve Nesbitt's voice in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, which killed Scobee, Gregory Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, and Michael Smith.
"Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation," Nesbitt can be heard saying.
"Obviously a major malfunction."