Dixie Chicks
documentary already causing controversy

The national ad campaign for the new Dixie Chicks documentary, Shut Up & Sing, was dealt a setback this week when the NBC and CW television networks refused to promote the film, Variety reported.

The documentary, which examines the impact of incendiary remarks made by lead singer Natalie Maines against the Iraq war in 2003, is slated for wide release on November 11. The national advertisement juxtaposes Bush's authorization to go to war with Maines's protest, followed by a clip of Bush admonishing the musical trio.

Harvey Weinstein, the film's distributor, criticized the networks in a statement obtained by Variety: "It's a sad commentary about the level of fear in our society that a movie about a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech is now itself being blacklisted by corporate America. The idea that anyone should be penalized for criticizing the president is profoundly un-American."

CW representatives have refuted Weinstein's claims, saying they never had an advertising deal with the Weinstein Company in the first place. NBC declined to comment on the situation.

The ad has aired on ABC; some NBC-owned stations and CW affiliates in New York and Los Angeles have also aired the spot. (The Advocate)