Amazon is currently considering the removal of a classic television show from its streaming library: The Dukes of Hazzard.
According to recent reports, the company may take The Dukes of Hazzard off of its IMDb TV streaming service, due to the fact that the Duke brothers' General Lee is emblazoned with the Confederate flag. The show has been flagged for review as Amazon executives consider re-evaluating content guidelines; a final decision has not been made.
The show has already faced its share of controversy; when a white supremacist committed mass murder at a church in South Carolina, Warner Bros. decided to stop licensing the General Lee image to toy companies. At the same time, TVLand pulled The Dukes of Hazzard reruns from its lineup entirely.
In the wake of George Floyd's murder at the hands of police, television shows and films from Paw Patrol to Gone With the Wind have been placed under increased scrutiny for racist behavior and outdated or distasteful symbolism. It is for this reason that the protagonists of The Dukes of Hazzard, who named their car after a Confederate general and emblazoned it with the Confederate flag, have caused Amazon is consider pulling the program.
Airing from 1979 to 1985 on CBS, The Dukes of Hazzard centered on the exploits of Bo and Luke Duke as they outraced the law.
(via Vulture)