After a public outcry arose after last week’s airing of “The Amazing Race” in Hanoi, Vietnam, which many deemed as “anti-American [1],” CBS has apologized.
Before last night’s episode, show host Phil Keoghan gave this apology [2] on behalf of CBS:
“Parts of last Sunday's episode, filmed in Vietnam, were insensitive to a group that is very important to us -- our nation's veterans. We want to apologize to veterans – particularly those who served in Vietnam – as well as to their families and any viewers who were offended by the broadcast. All of us here have the most profound respect for the men and women who fight for our country.”
The apology was also on the Amazing Race Facebook page [3].
CBS received criticism for its insensitive portrayal of both a downed B-52 bomber and a task that required contestants to memorize a communist glorification song. People on the left and right spoke out publically against the show, from liberals Bob Beckel [4] on Fox News’ “The Five,” and the Daily Kos [5] to conservative news media pretty much everywhere, as well as veterans groups like the Veterans of Foreign Affairs commander John Hamilton who wrote an open letter asking for an apology [6].
Whether CBS was sincere in it apology, or just trying to make the issue go away, the hundreds of comments left on the show’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, proved that the public was not sympathetic to the episode’s message.