Duane "Dog The Bounty Hunter" Chapman Back On Track, A&E Continues With Hit Show
According to reports, A&E has wisely decided to bring back Duane "Dog The Bounty Hunter" Chapman to the network.
Last fall, Chapman was involved in a scandal surrounding a surreptitiously recorded conversation he had with his son Tucker about his current girlfriend, an African American woman. In the tape, Chapman hurls many invectives at his son and makes racial slurs about the girlfriend. Tucker then sold those conversations to a tabloid, creating controversy about whether the Dog was a closet racist.
The ensuing flap caused A&E to suspend the show indefinitely, but since that time, Chapman has made grand efforts within the African American community to apologize and heal any wounds caused by his poor judgment. Many fans, both black and white, came forward defending Chapman and stated ultimately this was a private matter between father and son, and should never have been made public.
From TMZ:
A network official confirms to TMZ that the show is going back into production, but they've not yet set a premiere date. As of now, they're gearing up — big time — in Hawaii and production will begin ASAP. Makeup artists and camera crews have been hired, and houses and cars have been rented, all for the return of the show.A&E had suspended production on "Dog the Bounty Hunter" indefinitely after a recording surfaced featuring Chapman making racial slurs. Chapman immediately began a tour of forgiveness, working with CORE and other groups to promote racial equality. We're told network execs were "very pleased" with Dog's attempt to make amends and his reaching out to members of the African American community.
A&E isn't just making this decision out of the goodness of their hearts either. The show was insanely popular for the network, here and internationally — airing in over 20 countries.
I for one am glad to see the Dog back in action. We at Glosslip defended him immediately after the incident, while denouncing the use of racial stereotypes and hurtful slurs. Our perspective was that Dog was a man of the streets and using these terms were part of his makeup, but that his actions were not that of a man with deep-seated racial biases. Unlike say Imus, whose a bigoted idiot and meant what he said.
Glad to see A&E came to their senses. Dog, may I suggest you use this opportunity to show some decorum and allow your true nature to shine through. Just my humble opinion.
Follow Technorati