Sage Stallone’s Funeral May be Picketed by Westboro

Sage Stallone's Funeral May be Picketed by Westboro

The funeral of actor-filmmaker Sage Stallone is reportedly set, and may receive some unwelcome attendees. The Westboro Baptist Church, famous for picketing the funerals of fallen military personnel, has intimated that it plans to picket the service.

Stallone, 36, was found dead in his Hollywood home on Friday, July 13. He was the son of superstar Sylvester Stallone and photographer Sasha Czack. His funeral is to be held Saturday, July 21 at St Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Brentwood, California.

While details surrounding the death remain murky, the Westboro Baptist Church quickly derived meaning from it.

The day after the body was found, Margie Phelps - the middle-aged daughter of the church's founder, Fred Phelps - tweeted "Thrice-married rebel taught his son to mock God."

She followed this with the tweets "Adulterous dad brought wrath of God on son", "Whoring dad [Sly Stallone] selfishly drove him to mock God&to [sic] his death", and "...Tell [Sly Stallone] to mourn for his sins, not pimp out son's dead body to more proud sin!"

She followed the first two tweets with the hashtag #picketfuneral.

The church came to national attention in 1998, when it organized a protest of the Wyoming funeral of gay-bashing victim Matthew Shepard. In recent years, it has focused on protesting the funerals of American military casualties, for the stated reason that America's military conflicts are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuals.

The church's website, however, does not list the Brentwood funeral on its roster of intended protests.

Entertainment Tonight reports that, in lieu of flowers, Stallone's mother has asked that donations be made to the organization Autism Speaks. His brother Seargeoh, the only other child of the marriage of Stallone and Czack, has Autism.

An autopsy on Stallone was performed Sunday, ABC News reports, but it may be some weeks before the results of autopsy and toxicology reports are returned.

Foul play is not suspected. Authorities reportedly removed prescription pill bottles from Stallone's house; and his mother worried to the New York Post that intense pain from significant dental work caused him to overdose on painkillers.