Siesta Key star Alex Kompothecras, 22, (above) has been blasted for his friendship with Michael Wenzel who was allegedly filmed dragging a shark by its fin last week

MTV was forced to cancel the premiere party for its new reality show Siesta Key after one of its stars was bombarded with death threats over a viral video which allegedly shows one of his friends dragging a shark by a fin on his boat.

Alex Kompothecras is among young Floridians who appear in the reality show. Over the weekend, he was named on social media as a friend of Michael Wenzel, one of three men who allegedly filmed themselves dragging the shark by its fin last week.

No charges have been brought but the video is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Afterwards, the men posed for vile, graphic photographs on board with the shark's mutilated carcass. Experts said they believed the shark was alive at the time of the dragging because it did not look stiff.

Though 22-year-old Kompothecras is not believed to be in the offending video, animal activists claimed he is guilty of other cruelty to animals.

The shark was violently dragged through the boat's wake by its fin in the disturbing footage

Siesta Key, MTV's newest reality show, canceled a premiere party that was schedule to take place in Sarasota, Florida, on Monday because of the controversy. The show's cast members are pictured

Kompothecras did not respond to DailyMail.com's questions over the video on Tuesday.

Rolling Stone reports that he tweeted his defense of his friendship with Wenzel but later removed it.

In the tweet, he said: 'I had absolutely nothing to do with the shark video.

The men posed with the shark's carcass on social media afterwards

'Yes he's a friend of mine, but no I don't agree with what he did. Check your facts before you go posting on my page. Thanks.'

His father, chiropractor Gary Kompothecras, told The Tampa Bay Times the party was canceled for many reasons, his son's safety being one of them.

'I wouldn't say that's the only reason,' he said. 'There are other reasons.'

The party was scheduled to be held at CineBistro in Sarasota but was canceled at the eleventh hour before the series premiered on Monday night.

A Facebook group called Boycott Siesta Key MTV has now gathered more than 8,000 members.

Its page includes several screenshots taken from Kompothecras's Instagram account including one which appears to depict a video of Wenzel shooting a shark.

The post was nowhere to be found on the 22-year-old's account on Tuesday.

The disturbing shark footage surfaced online last week. It showed the men towing the shark in the boat's wake at rapid speed.

The shark flipped and flopped on the water's surface.

Rick Scott, the Governor for Florida, was among those to condemn it after it went viral.

Kompothecras has deleted a post from July 18, 2016, which appears to depict someone shooting sea creature from his boat. This screenshot was shared on the Boycott Siesta Key Facebook page

Michael Wenzel (left) was named as one of those on board. Another man (right) has not been named publicly

Wenzel appeared in other images including this one in which he pours beer in the mouth of a grouper

Kompothecras appears in several social media posts with animals and reptiles he has hunted

He called it 'incredibly disturbing' and urged the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to bring those responsible for it to justice.

Kompothecras's father Gary funded the MTV show

Wenzel has not been named by police but his identity was revealed on social media.

He had a trove of other photographs and videos showing him allegedly abusing animals on his Instagram feed.

In some of the posts, including one which purportedly showed him shooting a shark, he tagged Kompothecras.

On his own Instagram account, Kompothecras poses with dead deer he has stalked and with a large fish caught on his boat.

Siesta Key follows Kompothecras and his group of privileged friends for the summer.

The show was his father's idea and the family believes it will help 'put Siesta Key on the map'. Gary hired a producer to make the show.