Reruns of the popular '80s show Dukes of Hazzard have been cancelled by U.S. network TV Land following the controversy surrounding the Confederate flag.
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TV Land didn't say why they were dropping Dukes of Hazzard, according to People.
The series, set in Georgia in the deep south, follows the adventures of cousins Bo Duke (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat), Robin Hood-style outlaws as they race around the fictional rural community of 'Hazzard' county in a 1969 Dodge Charger.
The iconic car was named 'General Lee' after the South's most famous civil war general and boasts a Confederate flag painted on the roof.
The show faced criticism over the depiction of the flag in the aftermath of the June 17 shooting in Charleston, South Carolina which left nine dead.
Shortly after the attack, photos emerged depicting alleged shooter Dylann Roof posing with Confederate flags. Confederate merchandise then ceased to be sold by retailers Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
Warner Bros.' consumer division announced on June 24 that toy cars and models featuring the General Lee and flag would no longer be licensed.
I do have some vintage collectible #GeneralLee cars from my childhood. Grew up watching #DukesofHazzard... didn't turn me into a racist.— John Pyle (@johndpyle)
June 26, 2015
Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider defended the series' use of the flag in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "Labeling anyone who has the flag a 'racist' seems unfair to those who are clearly 'never meanin' no harm,'" he said.
His co-star Ben Jones said on Facebook that the Confederate flag represents the "indomitable spirit of independence."
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
Furore surrounding the flag has been in headlines since activist Brittany "Bree" Newsome, an African-American woman, climbed up a flagpole at the South Carolina state capitol Columbia and removed the Confederate flag.
President Barack Obama rejected the arguments of those who would defend the flag when giving the eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney in the historic black church.
"For too long, we were blind to the pain that the Confederate flag stirred into many of our citizens.
"It's true a flag did not cause these murders. But as people from all walks of life, Republicans and Democrats, now acknowledge, including Governor Haley, whose recent eloquence on the subject is worthy of praise as we all have to acknowledge, the flag has always represented more than just ancestral pride.
"For many, black and white, that flag was a reminder of systemic oppression and racial subjugation."
