Dukes of Hazzard actor John Schneider (whose most recent TV appearance was on the Tyler Perry series The Haves and The Have Nots) is in hot water after posting on social media that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden should be “hung,” later denying that he did so.
On Wednesday (December 20), John Schneider, best known for his role as Bo Duke on the late 1970s and 1980s comedy Dukes of Hazzard responded to a post by President Joe Biden on X, formerly known as Twitter. The president’s post read, “Trump poses many threats to our country: The right to choose, civil rights, voting rights, and America’s standing in the world. Schneider then quoted it with a near-threat. “Mr President,” he wrote, “I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung. Your son too. Your response is?”, signing the post, “Sincerely, John Schneider.”
The timing couldn’t have been worse for Schneider, who was on air after being unmasked in the finale of The Masked Singer on Fox. The post was deleted, but not before many online noticed including Joe Adalian, the West Coast editor for New York Magazine who posted it with the caption: “John Schneider took off more than one mask tonight. Fox gave this guy a platform tonight. I’m truly sorry for the loss of his wife, but that doesn’t excuse calling for the public execution of POTUS.”
Visibly emotional and teary during his appearance on the show, Schneider explained that his song choices of Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” were in honor of his late wife. Alicia Allain Schneider died from breast cancer on February 21. Fox canceled their array of Schneider’s scheduled press interviews the morning after, but the conservative actor did speak to People and Fox News.
Schneider would issue a denial in a statement: “Seriously, folks? This is my final comment on this. I neither said nor implied any such thing. Despite headlines claiming otherwise, in my post, I absolutely did not call for an act of violence or threaten a U.S. president as many other celebrities have done in the past. I suggest you re-read my actual post and pay attention to the words before believing this nonsense.” Schneider is reportedly now facing an investigation by the Secret Service.