US Military Vets Call For ‘Stars Earn Stripes’ Cancellation [Video]
It’s not just high-brow Nobel Peace Prize winners griping about the new reality TV show Stars Earn Stripes. US military veterans and one military reporter don’t take too kindly to the show either, crossing their fingers for the show’s cancellation.
An open letter signed by nine Nobel Peace Prize in protest of NBC’s new reality TV show may seem a bit unavailable to the general public, but how do actual tried-and-true military veterans view the show’s concept? Not in favor, according to a roundtable discussion over at Huffington Post Live. Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was joined by military vets and HuffPo’s Pulitzer Prize winning Senior Military Correspondent reporter David Wood on Tuesday for a discussion on the show, which has proved controversial even ahead of its two-hour prime-time premiere last night.
The show, which puts celebrities (including Todd Palin) into basic training-esque situations was criticized by US military vets including US Army veteran Jennifer Hunt, Afghanistan veteran Matt Zeller, and retired US Army infantry soldier Joshua Flashman. Hunt focused her criticism on the show’s disservice to female military members, and Zeller scoffed at it, saying, “I hope it’s canceled, and I hope it’s replaced with a nightly review of the casualties lost that day.”
Ouch.
Still, some have stepped out in defense of Stars Earn Stripes. A review of the premiere over at the Examiner maintained that the show’s controversy is unmerited, and that if one were to watch the show, they would see that the show doesn’t glorify war, but rather, “the show glorifies the world’s greatest warriors—United States’ service members,” further remarking that “It’s about time we bring them [US military members] back to the spotlight and Stars Earn Stripes is doing just that.
The review also criticizes the Nobel Peace Prize protest letter, pointing out that two of the nine signatures belong to non-American citizens. The review does agree with the letter’s criticism that the show is a glorification: “It is! The show glorifies our American warriors.”
The review sees the show less as cashing-in on a supposedly war-mongering American audience, and more as an homage to US military vets who have sacrificed so much for our country.
But what do you think? Did you watch Stars Earn Stripes? Does it glorify war? Should it be cancelled? Or do you see it as an homage to our armed forces? Sound off!
