Former "Dukes of Hazzard" actor John Schneider calls it a "travesty" the iconic 1980s TV show got "caught up" in the "crossfire" of the heated debate over the Confederate battle flag.
In an interview with "Newsmax Now" host John Bachman, Schneider, who played ex-stock car driver Bo Duke in the classic series, said the
anti-Confederate battle flag movement that began after the church slayings of nine people in South Carolina last June has gotten "crazy."
Story continues below video.
Watch Newsmax TV on
DirecTV Ch. 349, DISH Ch. 223 and
Verizon FiOS Ch. 115. Get Newsmax TV on your cable system —
Click Here Now
"As far as flying the flag at the state capital… I can certainly understand why people would say 'Look, you shouldn't do that,'" he said, adding however, "I could see why people would fight back. They're depicting these folks as if they were rebellious, toothless rednecks who just had nothing better to do than fight against Lincoln and the Army of the Potomac."
The backlash even extended to the "Dukes of Hazzard," which featured the popular "General Lee" Dodge Charger, which had a Confederate flag on its roof.
"Dukes of Hazzard" is and always will be one of the most family friendly television shows of all time, and for it to be caught up in this crossfire is really a travesty," he said. "It's friendly fire apparently, or we're collateral damage. I'm not sure."
Schneider's latest project is the film
"Adrenaline," in which a drag racer's life is turned upside down after a near-fatal car crash leaves him a paraplegic.
"Adrenaline" is about racing," he said. "It's about forgiveness, it's about apologizing to people if you need to apologize to someone. I don't believe it's so much what happens, it's what you do with what happens."
"It was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to take something I love, which is racing, and turn it into a – it's not so much a broad beating message film at all. It's a film that is exciting to watch."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.