Warner Brothers has told Media Matters it will halt its marketing outreach to a “pro-white” radio program after it became aware of the program's views.
On May 24, James Edwards, the host of The Political Cesspool radio program, wrote that he had been “contacted three weeks ago by a Warner Brothers executive who had heard about our radio show and website and was hoping that we would partner with them to help promote the brand new release of Gods and Generals Extended Director's Cut and Gettysburg Director's Cut.”
“I can finally tell you that after a series of e-mails and telephone calls, we have enthusiastically decided to team up with the entertainment giant to get the word out about these great films! ... Gods and Generals stands alone among films, as it favorably depicts the Confederacy and rightly casts Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson as heroes,” Edwards added.
In a separate post fundraising for his radio program, Edwards wrote that those “generous enough to contribute $250 or more (before June 30) will receive an autographed copy of Jared's book [Jared Taylor's pro-segregation, anti-diversity book White Identity], and a copy of the commemorative edition Blu-ray DVD Gods and Generals Extended Director's Cut." Edwards also posted a press release on the film.
When reached by Media Matters, a spokesperson for Warner Home Video confirmed that they contacted Political Cesspool but said they were unaware of the outlet's views at the time.
“Warner Home Video commonly sends out solicitations to media outlets with respect to upcoming home video releases. Media searches picked up a perceived interest in the films and contact was made without any prior knowledge of the nature of the outlet's views. Warner has halted further contact with the outlet,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Edwards describes his show as representing "a philosophy that is pro-White ... We wish to revive the White birthrate above replacement level fertility and beyond to grow the percentage of Whites in the world relative to other races."
The Anti-Defamation League has criticized Edwards for holding “white supremacist views” and interviewing “a variety of anti-Semites, white supremacists, Holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant leaders.” Similarly, the Southern Poverty Law Center has said that Edwards “has probably done more than any of his contemporaries on the American radical right to publicly promote neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers, raging anti-Semites and other extremists.”
On his blog, Edwards regularly denigrates minority groups. For instance, Edwards has written that “For blacks in the Americas, slavery is the greatest thing that ever happened to them. Unfortunately, it's the worst thing that ever happened to white Americans.” Posts on his blog include titles such as, “When are white folks gonna listen??? DIVERSITY + CRAIGSLIST = DEATH”; "MLK's dream is our nightmare"; and "Another interracial romance ends in murder."
Gods and Generals is the 2003 prequel to the 1993 movie Gettysburg. A studio synopsis states that the “film illuminates heroes from both sides of the war” and also tells the story of “the legions of anonymous soldiers and citizens who fought passionately and courageously for their vision of freedom.”
Edwards also wrote about Gods and Generals on April 1, writing that “Anyone wishing to celebrate Confederate History Month this year should purchase the 2003 film, Gods and Generals. It is among my all-time favorites and portrays the South in a very fair and objective light.”
In an April 2 post, Edwards promoted “an extraordinary paper” on Abraham Lincoln by white supremacist Sam Dickson, which purported to “set the record straight on Lincoln.” At the bottom of the post, Edwards wrote, “Be sure to tune in tonight and hear from Sam Dickson live! In the meantime, here is another powerful clip from Gods and Generals.”
In a summary of Gods and Generals' critical reception, film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes wrote that some may “take offense at the pro-Confederate slant.”