The Confederate Flag Will Be Removed From the Dukes of Hazzard’s General Lee

One of the most iconic cars in television history would be the General Lee from the 'Dukes of Hazzard'. Not only is it a classic, but also it is one of the most instantly recognizable cars worldwide. Warner Bros. just announced that the confederate flag will be removed from any future versions of the car. Warner Bros. owns the theatrical, DVD and licensing rights for anything related to The Dukes of Hazzard.

The hobby community is all up in arms about this decision and one collector on the website HobbyTalk.com said he got the word from a representative at the Dukes of Hazzard toy company, Tomy. According to the collector, this will start on January 1, 2013 and the decision came directly from Warner Bros.

What is unclear is whether this will affect a new Dukes of Hazzard movie Warner Bros. is currently developing. Right now, the removal of the confederate flag seems only limited to merchandising for the General Lee, but that could certainly extend to the film and beyond that.

It is really hard to imagine the General Lee without the confederate flag painted on top of the car, and more importantly, what will they replace it with... if they replace it at all? Would the roof of the General Lee just be orange without any type of decal? Fans of the show believe that without the confederate flag, the General Lee would no longer be the General Lee.

To be fair, there are many groups in the U.S. that believe the confederate flag represents the worst period in this country's history as it related to civil rights and equality for all, regardless of skin color. The flag has been removed from many aspects of some southern states in recent years, but for some, the flag is still a symbol of their heritage. We’ll see what happens because this issue will really heat up, especially if a new 'Dukes' movie comes out.