TV Land pulls ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ reruns from schedule

“Dukes of Hazzard” reruns have been pulled from TV Land in the wake of controversy surrounding the Confederate flag – which is famously seen atop a 1969 Dodge Charger known as the General Lee, which is prominently featured on the show. However, when the original stars were reunited for AutoTrader a year ago the company deliberately declined to show the flag on the hood of the General Lee.

The series will continue to run on CMT and online.

Though the flag still flies at the South Caroline State House, major retailers such Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon, e-Bay and Etsy have pulled merchandise featuring the flag.

Debate over the Confederate flag has intensified following the shooting at a Charleston church that killed nine people.

TV Land – owned by media conglomerate Viacom, which also operates MTV and Comedy Central – didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment or say why it was pulling the show, which it had been running two times a day. In both a Facebook post and in an opinion piece published in US Today, Ben Jones, the actor who played mechanic Cooter on the Dukes of Hazzard, came to the defense of the flag.

“They’ve been pushing for it for over 150 years and this year the politically correct anti-Confederate flag movement may have finally achieved its ultimate goal”. The alleged murderer posed in photos depicting him with the Confederate flag, which has reignited criticism that the flag has white supremacist, racist overtones.

Last week, Warner Bros. announced it was no longer going to sanction the manufacture of the show’s merchandise featuring the flag, including the world famous auto General Lee.

“Our beloved symbol is now being attacked in a wave of political correctness that is unprecedented in our nation of free speech and free expression”, wrote Jones, who also served as a congressman from Georgia and now is a national spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veterans.