John Schneider is trying to keep the “Dukes of Hazzard” legacy alive.
The iconic country comedy series began its run in 1979 and continued until 1985 with Tom Wopat playing Luke Duke and Schneider portraying his cousin Bo Duke. The show has since faced criticism for its use of the Confederate battle flag stamped on the roof of Bo’s ’69 Dodge Charger, named General Lee.
Schneider, 61, addressed the car’s controversy, telling Fox News that “it was the older, uneducated generation that wanted to remove it from the series, from the airwaves.”
“There’s a group of people that seem to base their values on removing what they’re against. I’ve always placed people’s values on what they are for,” the “Smallville” star continued.
Schneider, who is also a country music singer, added that the issue of the use of the Confederate flag “had been attacked maybe 20 years ago. And then that attack went away.”
“I guess the critics found another hobby. So no, it didn’t surprise me. But I tell you, my wife and I dirt-track race. We are out among people from coast to coast all year round . . . And there are still children playing with General Lees in the dirt regardless of cancel culture trying to cancel it,” he said. “And I think it’s because parents save their General Lees and pass them down to another generation. ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ is still out of date and as relevant as it ever was.”
As for what he thinks about cancel culture, Schneider “absolutely” wants the practice to cancel itself.
He then attributed his answer to legendary comedian Groucho Marx, saying, “Why would I want to belong to a country club that would have me as a member?”
“Cancel culture is very short-sighted, and it’s very much against everything I believe in concerning freedom of speech and freedom of expression. I’m looking forward to the day when the wind finally comes out of the sails of all that nonsense,” he explained.
Schneider and his co-star defended the use of the flag last year after Black Lives Matter advocates called for Confederate flags and statues to be removed nationwide.
“I have never had an African American come up to me and have any problem with it whatsoever,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in July 2020. “The whole politically correct generation has gotten way out of hand.”
Wopat acknowledged at the time that “the situation in the country has obviously changed in the last 40 years,” adding that “I feel fortunate to be living in a time when we can address some of the injustices of the past.”