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Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider‘s Louisiana property was ravaged by Hurricane Ida — wrecking the Duke brothers’ famous orange Dodge Charger from the classic TV series, the General Lee, in the process.
On Monday, the 61-year-old actor, who famously played Bo Duke on the ’80s show, shared a photo of the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, in which the iconic General Lee car was visibly crushed by a tree that was uprooted during the storm at his namesake production studios.
“Well … When something like this happens you have two choices: Tears and laughter. I choose laughter. So … What’s your caption? Here’s mine: ‘Miss Ida stopped by to see the General at Miss Shirley’s last night…,’ ” Schneider wrote on Facebook.
John Schneider/Facebook
According to TMZ, Schneider owns several models of the car. The actor shared an update on social media saying that he is doing fine as he and his family are simply focusing on hurricane relief in their area.
He also wrote to a follower that he plans to fix the iconic car soon as many fans of Dukes of Hazzard reminisced about the show in the comments after seeing the damage.
John Schneider/Facebook
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The General Lee car itself has been at the center of controversy in the years since the show concluded. The vehicle was named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, and features a Confederate flag decal on the roof.
The flag was used by the Confederate States of America for four years, from 1861 until 1865. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the flag “served as a potent symbol of slavery and white supremacy, which has caused it to be very popular among white supremacists.”
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Back in 2015, TV Land pulled Dukes of Hazzard from its schedule and Warner Bros. halted production of toys and replicas of the General Lee due to backlash over the flag’s inclusion.
Last year, as the Black Lives Matter protests occurred across the country, Schneider defended the show amid renewed criticism around the series’ Confederate flag iconography.
“I have never had an African American come up to me and have any problem with it whatsoever,” he told the Hollywood Reporter at the time. “… The whole politically correct generation has gotten way out of hand.”
The Dukes of Hazzard, which aired on CBS from 1979 to 1985, followed the adventures of cousins Bo (Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) in fictional Hazzard County, Georgia. The series later spawned a 2005 movie, which starred Sean William Scott, Johnny Knoxville, and Jessica Simpson.
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