In a statement to TPM on Wednesday, the Discovery Channel denied any resemblance between certain “zombie” target mannequins used on its shows and President Barack Obama.
“Discovery certainly sees no connection between the these [sic] zombie targets and the President of the United States,” spokesperson Paul Schur wrote in an emailed statement.
The mannequins, made by a California company called Zombie Industries, appeared on the Discovery Channel programs “Sons of Guns” and “American Guns.” At the National Rifle Association’s convention in Houston over the weekend, Zombie Industries removed one model mannequin that appeared on the Discovery Channel shows from a display rack, reportedly at the request of the NRA.
On its website, Zombie Industries declares that “any resemblance to actual persons” is “entirely” coincidental. But when a Buzzfeed reporter asked a Zombie Industries booth worker at the NRA convention about mannequins resemblance to Obama, the worker replied, “Let’s just say I gave my Republican father one for Christmas.”
