Actor and musician John Schneider on Monday blasted the "hypocrisy" of DirecTV dropping Newsmax from its platform, predicting pushback from lawmakers, and that the public will win out.
Appearing on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," Schneider said "our narrative is the truth."
Schneider rose to fame in the 1970s as a star in the hit TV series “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship – sign The Petition – Click Here
"What an amazing display of hypocrisy we are living in right now, with this whole AT&T nonsense with regard to Newsmax," he said. "The great thing about it is that lies can't stand the truth. … Lies are desperately afraid of the truth. The truth is not afraid of anything."
Schneider said the "noise" from lawmakers and the public over the deplatforming "will make a difference."
AT&T DirecTV removed Newsmax from its systems two weeks ago, denying the channel to 13 million homes.
"The left has to realize — and AT&T, specifically, has to realize — that they don't get to choose who was entitled to the First Amendment," he said. "It's not up to them. The First Amendment has already given us the right of free speech, but I'm going to look at this a little differently because we can't expect the enemy to help us perpetuate our narrative. Our narrative is the truth. We are fair. We are truth."
Schneider said he is urging lawmakers to "force AT&T to do the right thing."
"We were at the precipice of something grand here," he said. "I believe they are so arrogant in their hypocrisy … I do believe that that truth will win out. Truth always wins out, light always wins out.
"So we've got to stay verbal about this. We've got to make our opinion known at AT&T, at DirecTV. We need to let them know that if they don't, then we will leave.
"We have the power because we are the consumer," he added, suggesting the message should be: "If you don't put Newsmax back on, we are leaving. Give them a date. And then on that date, let's destroy their viewership."
DirecTV has claimed both Newsmax and conservative channel OAN were removed as "cost-cutting" measures at the same time the company reported profits last year of $2.7 billion.
This week DirecTV claimed Newsmax was demanding "excessive fees" that would cost them in the "tens of millions" of dollars.
Newsmax has denied these claims, saying it was seeking a fee of about $1 per cable subscriber per year, among the lowest fees asked for in cable, and that total amount of the deal was a fraction of "tens of millions."
"This was never about the fees being excessive," Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, said. "DirecTV's position has always been that Newsmax of all cable news channels should never get any cable fee whatsoever, not one penny."
DirecTV continues to carry 22 left-leaning news channels, many with much lower ratings than Newsmax. And of those channels get license fees.
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is back on air!
2. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV's censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
3. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.
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