“Dukes of Hazzard's” Confederate flag-bedecked General Lee is going out of commission.
In a statement to Yahoo! Autos, Warner Bros. Consumer Products said that in light of the decision of a number of giant retailers including Walmart and Amazon to stop selling Confederate flag merchandise — which would include model miniatures of the famed TV automobile — they have decided to “cease the licensing” of “die-cast replicas and [General Lee] model kits.”
The car was featured in the CBS TV series, the 2005 film and its 2007 direct-to-video sequel.
The controversy over displays of the Confederate flag began following the tragic murder by firearm of nine congregants at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina last week. The murders were carried out by 21-year-old Dylann Roof, who posted a racist manifesto online along with several photos of himself holding a Confederate flag prior to carrying out the killings, which he has confessed to. The South Carolina legislature has since voted to open debate on removing the flag from the State House grounds.