Aloha Dog! A&E Cancels Dog The Bounty Hunter

The Hawaii-based reality TV show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” is off-the-air "for the foreseeable future," said the A&E cable network, two days after the release of a tape in which star Duane “Dog” Chapman was caught in a racist rant about his son’s black girlfriend.

“In evaluating the circumstances of the last few days, A&E has decided to take 'Dog The Bounty Hunter' off the network’s schedule for the foreseeable future,” A&E said in statement. “We hope that Mr. Chapman continues the healing process that he has begun.”

The change means that the show’s re-runs will be pulled off the air indefinitely and that production continues to be suspended as the network investigates the incident, said an A&E network executive this morning. He said an online report today, picked up by the Star-Bulletin, saying that the show was canceled was incorrect.

The network had suspended the show Wednesday after the National Enquirer posted the tape online in which Chapman repeatedly uses the N-word as he tries to convince his son Tucker to break up with his girlfriend.

In the conversation, Chapman tells his son that he wants to use the N-word without worrying about his son’s black girlfriend and urges him to leave her or lose his job at one of the family’s businesses. He uses the N-word to describe the woman whom the Enquirer identified as Monique Shinnery.

Before today’s announcement, a major sponsor for the show said it was pulling its support. Yum! Brands, who advertises its Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants on the show, said it pulled its ads from the show effective immediately, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“It’s despicable,” a Yum! spokeswoman said about Chapman’s rant, according to the Journal. “We are no longer advertising on the show.”

Chapman has since apologized for his behavior. "Dog the Bounty Hunter," shot mostly in Hawaii, was in its fifth season and was one of A&E’s most popular shows.