‘The Dukes Of Hazzard’: Confederate Flag Controversy Forces Warner Brothers To Stop Licensing Replicas Of The General Lee
Warner Brothers is the latest company to remove themselves from being associated with the Confederate flag. The company that created The Dukes of Hazzard has announced that they will no longer license any type of replica of the “General Lee” car from the TV show. The reason for this decision is due to the fact that the iconic car has a Confederate flag painted on top.
Major retailers are rapidly pulling items off of their shelves that have the Confederate flag on them. Warner Brothers joins Walmart, eBay, Amazon, and Sears so far as major companies to pull items off of their shelves. The list will likely continue to grow in the coming days.
The Confederate flag outrage comes on the heels of the mass murder perpetrated by Dylan Roof against nine parishioners at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina last week. Since the murders, South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley, has started a push to have the Confederate flag removed from government buildings.
Former Georgia congressman and actor on The Dukes of Hazzard, Ben Jones, has taken exception to the movement that is sweeping across the country.
“More than 33 years since the show premiered on CBS-TV on Friday nights, Warner Bros. has issued a new and terribly insulting attack on the South, a region and a culture which Hollywood has trashed for decades.”
Fans of The Dukes of Hazzard had mixed reactions on Twitter.
Immediately,CMT must divest of all Dukes of Hazzard reruns.TCM must burn all copies & celluloid prints of Gone w/ Wind.#ConfederateFlag
— Scott Carroll (@YouDaManTiger) June 24, 2015
Good on Warner Bros for not selling Dukes of Hazzard stuff anymore. But it makes me curious as to whether or not the franchise is dead now?
— hywel (@daycoder) June 24, 2015
I wonder how long till some idiot calls for Dukes of Hazzard to be banned b/c of the General Lee’s flag on its roof? Or its name?
— The Doctor (@COBigBlueBox) June 24, 2015
This is not the first time that The Dukes of Hazzard has been scrutinized for its use of the Confederate flag or for being racist. Earlier this year, a New York City police officer parked a car that was a recreation of the “General Lee” on NYPD property. The owner was forced to remove the vehicle due to it being a “symbol of racism.”
What are your thoughts on the latest Confederate flag news? Will The Dukes of Hazzard franchise be banned?
[Image via CBS Studios]
