MEDIA WATCH | DR PEPPER SNAPPLE GROUP

7 Up—Freedom of Religion is Still Part of the First Amendment—Please Protect It

Our Founding Fathers felt that Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion were such important concepts that they made them the very first amendment to the Constitution they created.

June 5, 2018

Larry D. Young
President and CEO Dr Pepper Snapple Group

Dear Mr. Young,

Last week Rosanne tweeted something against someone’s religion and race and her show was immediately canceled—immediately. On the other hand, there is an entire television show that has run now for two seasons that is much more inflammatory than Rosanne’s random tweet. This show is about to be picked up for a third season and is apparently going to expand their religious bigotry to other religions as well as mine. Your company has chosen to align itself with this type of bigotry with your advertising dollars.

Our Founding Fathers felt that Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion were such important concepts that they made them the very first amendment to the Constitution they created. It is seriously Un-American to discriminate against someone based on their religion, yet this show does just that.

The entire purpose of the Leah Remini show is to spread hatred against my religion. It propagates false and inflammatory information that is designed to do nothing more than make people take action against members of my faith, which has happened as a result of the show. A woman who was “inspired” by Remini drove her car into the children’s area of one of our churches. Thankfully no children were killed.

Scientology is a faith that helps people get off drugs, helps children learn to read, sends volunteers out in droves to assist in times of disaster and does many other actions that are beneficial not only to its members, but to their communities as well. I don’t know what other religions Leah is intending to attack next, but I would bet that they too do beneficial things as that is what most religions are all about. What kind of person would spend their life trying to destroy this? What type of company would support this?

I implore you to not support religious intolerance with your advertising dollars. Not only is the show dropping in viewership, but I imagine there are more fireworks ahead if Remini expands her horizons and attacks other religions as well.

Sincerely,

Deanne Macdonald
Denver, Colo.