Smallville’s John Schneider gave an inadvertent salute to Courage Culture in a recent vlog.
The star, also known for his portrayal of Bo Duke in the seven-season television series, ‘The Dukes of Hazard’, said people keep wanting to talk about cancel culture:
“They’re looking at it in kind of a bad light, like, oh my gosh, how are you dealing with cancel culture? Because you’re a Conservative, Republican Christian, and celebrity, who is outspoken, certainly they’re going to cancel you?”
Schneider declared, “Look. They can’t cancel me, because I quit years ago.”
He added:
“If the people, the business, the culture or the tone of the day is accepting you into it, or if you don’t have opposition, then you are not a threat. You shouldn’t antagonize and try to create opposition, but you should welcome it as a sign that you are on the right track.”
The Dukes of Hazard star spoke of how he and his wife, Alicia, “took their little shovel and our little plastic sand bucket, and left the sandbox of Hollywood,” which, he said:
“Is really more like a cat box. When you do that, you have a choice: You can either find a sandbox that you are in agreement with like-minded equally yolked, or you can get some tools and build your own sand box. That’s what we chose to do.”
Clarifying the cat box analogy, he told the 223 thousand strong YouTube audience that he understands why Hollywood does what it does, but “didn’t want to be part of it.”
He also insisted that he wasn’t “going to try and stop them” because “it’s still a free country.”
Schnieder encouraged people to stop whining about Hollywood and start voting with their feet, by voting with their dollar:
“The only thing that is going to change anything about what Hollywood is doing, is sales.”
The 61-year-old veteran actor said:
“Personally, I think Hollywood has abandoned the consumer; the movie going public. If you’re in opposition to what they’re doing, you must not support them by going to see their movies, it’s that simple.”
The 14-minute vlog posted to YouTube on the November 25 portrayed independent filmmaking as the “farmers market” of the movie world, with the actor thanking audiences for their support.
Schnieder then returned to earlier remarks encouraging people to face cancel culture with courage,
“Look at opposition as a sign you’re on the right track. Don’t lament being expunged from a society you don’t want to have any part of.”
His inadvertent salute to courage culture correlates with the star’s comments to FOX5 in March, where he said he hoped “cancel culture will devour itself.”
The actor is a staunch defender of the ‘Dukes of Hazard’, vying into the debate on racial division, arguing that the family show was about bucking against oppressive, corrupt authorities. It was not a dog-whistle for racists.
In June 2015, Warner Brothers declared to stop making toys such as the iconic ’68 Dodge charger, ‘The General Lee’ because it had a Confederate Flag painted on its roof.
CBS reported that retailers, and merch licensees were responding to the tragic killing of nine people in a historic black church in Charleston.
In the FOX5 interview Schneider said:
“People need to be educated about symbols and about the show. The first thing we need to do is cancel, cancel culture. It needs to eat itself. They’re coming after The Muppets, Dr. Suess, The Dukes of Hazard.”
Commenting on the Confederate Flag, he told FOX5, “to me, the Rebel flag means fighting against an oppressive system that is polluting the well where we drink.”
In another recent interview, Schnieder told Fox News:
“From where I stand, none of the cancel culture antics is going to diminish what the show has represented to families who grew up on it. It brought families together. It was never about division…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.”
When asked about Cancel Culture, he affirmed:
“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.”
Schneider’s new film, “Poker Run” was released on the 26th November.
