Ahead of Thursday night's new episode of "Glee," the superintendent of schools in Newtown, Conn., sent out a letter to families warning them about the show.

Adam Rose / FOX

The glee club gathers together after a terrifying school shooting on "Glee."

The reason? The plot centered around a school shooting. 

The letter, obtained by WNBC, reads:

Greetings,

I want to make you aware that the show "Glee" is featuring what could be a disturbing plot tonight and I want you to be aware so you can make an informed choice about watching this.  According to entertainment blog TVLine, tonight's episode includes shots in the halls "that rips the frothy high-school musical off its foundation and transports it to a dark and harrowing world."  "Allegedly, the rest of the episode is claustrophobic and emotionally charged, as students cower in the rehearsal room and consider their possible fates."

This has the potential to be disturbing to many of our students, so I wanted you to know ahead of time.

Janet Robinson

Superintendent of Schools

On Dec. 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown before taking his own life.

While no one was hurt on Thursday's episode of "Glee," titled "Shooting Star," the students of William McKinley High found themselves in a horrifying situation when a gun went off at the school.

The episode was emotionally harrowing, depicting terrified students crouching together, crying and fearing for theirs lives and those of their friends who weren't with them.

Much of it focused on the teens who were hiding in a darkened choir room trying to reach out to family and friends via text — yet jumping when cell phones rang or buzzed, worried that the shooter might hear the slightest noise they made.

In several heartbreaking scenes, the show was seen through cell phone cameras as students recorded final messages for their loved ones.

In the end, it was revealed that Becky (Lauren Potter), a student with Down syndrome, had brought her dad's firearm to school to protect herself. While showing the weapon to Coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) in her office, the gun accidentally went off in Becky's hand, and then fired again as it hit the floor after she dropped it.

When police could not find the gun after searching the school and interviewing students, Coach Sue told Principal Figgins that the incident was her fault. She claimed she was doing a daily safety check on her gun when it accidentally went off, and that she had dumped the casings in a lake and moved posters to hide the bullet holes. Due to a zero-tolerance policy toward firearms, Coach Sue was let go.

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Peter Kramer / NBC via Getty Images

Ke$ha

After reports surfaced that the Ke$ha song "Die Young" was pulled from the airwaves after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school, the singer has spoken out about her song, and the tragedy itself.

"I'm so so so sorry for anyone who has been (affected) by this tragedy. and I understand why my song is now inappropriate. words cannot express," Ke$ha tweeted Tuesday.

The lyrics to the song include repetitions of the phrase, "we're gonna die young," and according to Billboard, Ke$ha later tweeted (then deleted) her thoughts on the problematic lyrics. According to Billboard, the tweet read, "i understand. I had my very own issue with 'die young' for this reason. I did NOT want to sing those lyrics and I was FORCED TO."

WDAQ radio's program director and morning host Rich Minor told Billboard.com that the song was no longer in rotation on the Danbury, Conn., station."We've been playing it before Friday but not since and I think we're now done with it," he said. "Even though it's a fun pop/dance record about seizing the moment, all people are going to hear right now is those two words in the title."

Ke$ha isn't the only artist whose work has come under additional scrutiny in the days since the Dec. 14 shooting. Foster the People's "Pumped up Kicks" has reportedly been pulled out of rotation at Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM.

The lyrics from that song include the chorus, "All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run, outrun my gun / All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, You better run, better run, faster than my bullet /

While the Foster the People Twitter page does not include comments about the lyrics of their hit song, there are multiple tweets expressing sympathy for the victims of Sandy Hook. Among them, one written Wednesday:  "Days later, still sitting in my room with tears behind my eyes trying to think of a way forward. This country is so polarized."

Publicists for Ke$ha, Foster the People, and the program manager for KIIS-FM did not respond to requests for comment.

Related content:

• Hollywood struggles with gun violence
• Hollywood reacts to tragedy by pulling shows, delaying movie premiere
• 'The Voice' opens with tribute to Newtown
• 'Blossom' star shares love for her Newtown hometown
• Shootings rant tied to Morgan Freeman is a hoax

Paramount Pictures

Tom Cruise in "Jack Reacher."

Guns and shootings are as much a part of Hollywood plots as special effects and makeup. But after last week's shootings in Newtown, Conn., entertainment executives have been scrambling to make changes to avoid looking insensitive to the tragedy.

But one of the changes that many think was related to the shooting was merely a coincidence, network representatives say.

"American Guns," a Discovery Channel reality show about the Wyatt family, gunmakers in Colorado, was not renewed after its second season ended in September. The network said in a statement that it "chose not to renew the series and has no plans to air repeats of the show."

Fox News calls the cancellation a "surprise given (the show's) growing popularity," reporting that the show "had a 50 percent ratings increase for its second season premiere." Fox also quoted a representative of gun-rights group The Firearms Coalition saying, "It does not surprise me that Discovery may be lowering the profile of its gun coverage. That's their prerogative. Nonetheless this tragedy has as much to do about lawful use of guns as the lawful use of cars has to do with a car bombing."

But one change made by cable channel TLC did have to do with the shootings. The pilot for a new reality show, "Best Funeral Ever," was supposed to air Dec. 20. That show, which focuses on elaborate funerals given by the Golden Gate Funeral Home in Dallas, will air Jan. 6 instead.

Violence in movies is also an issue. After the shootings at a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in July, a trailer for the film "Gangster Squad" was pulled from theater use due to a scene in which gunmen walk through a theater screen shooting into the audience. "Gangster Squad" was set to open in September, but after the shootings, was moved to January. The theater scene was reportedly edited out, but a gunfire-heavy ad for the film aired Sunday during NFL football, two days after the shootings.

Gun violence is also a theme in Tom Cruise's new movie, "Jack Reacher," which opens Dec. 21. The movie, based on a book by Lee Child, opens with a scene in which a sniper shoots five seemingly random people on Pittsburgh's riverfront.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has made some changes to the marketing of "Jack Reacher" since the Newtown shootings, including cutting a scene from promotional spots that shows Cruise firing a semi-automatic weapon. The studio also postponed the Pittsburgh premiere of the film.

Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," which will open on Dec. 25, is also filled with bloody scenes and gun violence. The Weinstein Co. canceled the film's planned public premiere and party Tuesday as a reaction to the shooting.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the tragedy in Newtown, CT and in this time of national mourning we have decided to forgo our scheduled event," The Weinstein Co. said in a statement. "However, we will be holding a private screening for the cast and crew and their friends and families." 

At a press event Saturday, director Quentin Tarantino spoke about the film's violence, saying, "I just think, you know, there's violence in the world, tragedies happen, blame the playmakers. It's a Western. Give me a break."

In the film, Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington play slaves who are whipped and brutalized in the pre-Civil War South. Washington pointed out that much of the violence in "Django Unchained" takes place as characters fight back against slavery.

"I do think that it's important when we have the opportunity to talk about violence and not just kind of have it as entertainment, but connect it to the wrongs, the injustices, the social ills," Washington said.

Movie studio 20th Century Fox also canceled red carpet events for its film "Parental Guidance," which is not a violent film.

Fox also replaced Sunday's episodes of "Family Guy" and "American Dad" with less-violent reruns, and SyFy yanked an episode of "Haven" which included violence in a high school.