title:  A&E Cancels KKK Documentary After It’s Revealed Producers PAID Racists To Be In It
text: A&E decided to just scrap its previously upcoming documentary series  Escaping the KKK    once called the more friendly  Generation KKK  before the avalanche of complaints   after learning that the Klansmen and women in question were paid to take part in it.In a statement released Saturday, the network announced the cancellation   the final leg of a shameful journey of backtracking that has accompanied the show, which claimed to offer an  unprecedented  look inside the Ku Klux Klan   comes following a discovery that the producers made  nominal   cash payments  to participants. Our goal with this series has always been to expose and combat racism and hatred in all its forms,  the network said.  However, A&E learned last night from the third-party producers who made the documentary that cash payments which we currently understand to be nominal were made in the field to some participants in order to facilitate access. Apparently, A&E could handle the shame of a docuseries attempting to normalize the Klan, but not actually paying them. The network says it stands by the show s content, which allegedly showed the struggles with the internal families  of the Klan, but the cash payments violated company policy: 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. Network vice president Robert Sharenow lashed out at America for making the network s awesome KKK series go away, reminding everyone that it doesn t erase the hate and throwing out the obligatory  we don t endorse the hate group we were promoting by giving them a platform  message: A&E takes the authenticity of its documentary programming and the subject of racism, hatred and violence very seriously. Just because this particular show goes away, the issues of hate in America do not. We will still seek to fight hate in America through on-air programming including town halls and documentary programs produced in partnership with civil rights organizations, as well as continue to work with the civil rights community to facilitate a deeper dialogue on ending hate through comprehensive educational and outreach campaigns. This isn t the first time A&E has given voice to hateful and deranged people. The network previously played host to Duck Dynasty, whose patriarch regularly spouts hate speech masked by his religion, and numerous shows that featured child molesters and alleged child molesters. While they  have backpedaled a lot   first changing the name of the show in response to backlash and ultimately canceling it for the cash payments   it is probably unwise to cut them any slack here based on their history.The show was set to premier on January 10, just in time to accompany the beginning of Donald Trump s presidency.Featured image via screengrab