<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Proud <a href="https://twitter.com/ADL_National">@ADL_National</a> helped <a href="https://twitter.com/AETV">@AETV</a> on their impt new doc series <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GenerationKKK?src=hash">#GenerationKKK</a> <a href="https://t.co/YEhrRumprk">https://t.co/YEhrRumprk</a> - more here: <a href="https://t.co/Li0nRdAOdU">https://t.co/Li0nRdAOdU</a></p>
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) <a href="https://twitter.com/JGreenblattADL/status/810877659949531136">December 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Who wants to see a docuseries centered around the KKK? You already know <a href="http://madamenoire.com/743825/how-ae-plans-to-normalize-terrorism-with-their-new-kkk-docuseries/" target="_blank">we weren't interested</a>.
So the news of the series <em>Escaping the KKK </em>getting the boot before it's January 10 premiere on A&E is probably good news to many, as <a href="http://deadline.com/2016/12/kkk-docu-series-canceled-by-ae-after-ethical-concerns-arise-1201875666/" target="_blank">people weren't happy about the show</a> in the first place. And while some shows get axed before they have a chance because they're truly a terrible idea (i.e. <a href="http://madamenoire.com/252006/stereotypes-whos-stereotyping-oxygen-finally-speaks-out-about-all-my-babies-mamas-controversy/" target="_blank"><em>All My Babies' Mamas</em></a> -- RIP Shawty Lo), some terrible shows get cut due to behind-the-scenes drama.
According to <a href="http://people.com/tv/ae-cancels-kkk-docuseries/" target="_blank"><em>PEOPLE</em></a>, <em>Escaping the KKK</em>, which was allegedly meant to show individuals helping Klan members leave the movement, as well as those within it, has been canceled because "third-party producers" working on the show paid subjects to participate. This is not the protocol for documentaries on A&E. Despite the payments allegedly being small, the network sees this to be a major ethical concern and said so in a statement:
<blockquote>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. We had previously provided assurances to the public and to our core partners – including the Anti-Defamation League and Color of Change – that no payment was made to hate group members, and we believed that to be the case at the time. We have now decided not to move forward with airing this project.</blockquote>
A&E said the intent of the series was to combat racism by showing what people have had to go through to leave the KKK and move away from their racial hatred. However, everything about the show was side-eyed from the moment it was announced on December 12. Plus, critics said the original description of the show provided what seemed to be a sympathetic view of the hate group, and the fact that the show was originally titled <em>Generation KKK </em>probably didn't help. The show's title was eventually changed to <em>Escaping the KKK: A Documentary Series Exposing Hate in America</em>, and the network announced a partnership with civil rights group Color of Change amid the controversy. The show was to feature eight one-hour episodes. It pretty much followed A&E's track record of shows about people leaving controversial ways of life and churches: addiction, polygamy, Amish fellowships, Scientology, and so on and so on. We would have shared the trailer with you, but A&E had it removed from YouTube. So that's clearly the end of that...
<em>Images via Twitter/A&E</em>
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