Added on June 25, 2015  The News Wheel   , , , , ,
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Confederate Flag to be Removed from Dukes of Hazzard General Lee Merchandise

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The General Lee Dodge Charger

The General Lee
Photo: Cliff via Flickr

Them Duke Boys are in trouble again! Or at least their car, the General Lee, is.

According to an article from Vulture, Warner Bros. announced that they would cease the production of any products featuring the Confederate flag. That includes the General Lee, a modified 1969 Dodge Charger.

As a result of the decision, die-cast replicas and models of the General Lee have ceased production entirely. Additionally, merchandise featuring the car will have the Confederate flag removed from its roof.

Related Post: Supreme Court Strike Down Texas Confederate Flag License Plates

Ben Jones, the actor who portrayed the character of Cooter Davenport in The Dukes of Hazzard, issued a post on his Facebook page defending the presentation of the Confederate flag shortly after the announcement.

TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND FANS FROM BEN JONES AKA “COOTER”I THINK ALL OF HAZZARD NATION UNDERSTANDS THAT THE…

Posted by Ben Cooter Jones on Tuesday, June 23, 2015

 

Back in 2012, a rumor was floating around that Warner Bros. had decided to remove the Confederate flag from the General Lee. However, the rumors were dismissed by the company, who issued a statement falsifying the claims and explaining the company had no plans to modify the design of the vehicle.

Warner Bros. is the latest company to remove merchandise with the Confederate flag from their product line up. Earlier this week, Amazon.com, Walmart, Sears, and eBay all announced they would stop carrying Confederate flag merchandise as well.

Photo: Joe Ross

The Confederate flag on the roof of the General Lee
Photo: Joe Ross

The decision comes in the wake of a mass shooting that took place in a Charleston, South Carolina church last week on June 17. The identified shooter, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, shot 10 church goers, nine of whom died.

In addition to companies, many state officials, including South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, have called for the removal of the flag from Statehouse grounds. NASCAR later supported Governor Haley’s position.

Related Post: NASCAR Supports Governor Haley’s Call To Remove Confederate Flag

Oddly enough, an Autotrader advertisement released a year ago, which featured the Duke boys trading in the old General Lee for a new orange Dodge Viper, somewhat predicted this event. Throughout the commercial, the Confederate flag on the roof of the Dodge Charger had been removed.

News Source: Vulture