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Paramount Pulled DeSantis Guantanamo Bay Doc for Political Reasons: Report

Both Vice and Showtime initially cited “scheduling” when asked about the film’s nonappearance.

A Vice-made documentary covering allegations that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was present at Guantanamo Bay during a controversial detainee hunger strike was dropped over concerns of potential political consequences, according to Semafor. The Guantanamo Candidate, an hour-long installment of Vice’s documentary series about the Republican presidential candidate’s time as a U.S. Navy JAG officer at the prison complex, was supposed to air on Showtime on May 28. Showtime’s site described the episode as including allegations from “former detainees that he was present at force-feedings that were condemned as torture by the UN.” When the show was quietly pulled, both Vice and Showtime cited “scheduling” in response to questions about the episode’s nonappearance. In reality, sources told Semafor that the Paramount-owned channel dropped it out of fear of political fallout. One insider also said Paramount’s Washington lobbyist, DeDe Lea, had raised concerns about the film.