A&E Cans KKK Series After Learning Subjects Were Paid

A&E, the cable network that gives airtime to the homophobic Duck Dynasty clan, has canceled an eight-part miniseries about the KKK, after allegedly discovering their producers hired people to be on the show.

"While we stand behind the intent of the series and the seriousness of the content, these payments are a direct violation of A&E's policies and practices for a documentary," a statement from the network said, according to Buzzfeed.

Originally titled Generation KKK and set to air next month, A&E changed the title after an online backlash claimed the series was glamorizing white supremacists; a sensitive subject after Donald Trump's racist candidacy empowered such groups. The series, ostensibly about how KKK members try to leave the notoriously hateful organization, was then renamed, Escaping the KKK: A Documentary Series Exposing Hate in America.

In its statement, A&E said it takes "racism, hatred, and violence very seriously." That conflicts with its decision to not cancel Duck Dynasty after its star gave interviews saying African-Americans were treated fine in the Jim Crow South and gay people are as bad as terrorists.