Showtime Drops Ron DeSantis Documentary Shortly Before Air Date Without Explanation

Showtime dropped a documentary about 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis just days before it was supposed to air   and gave no reason why, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday.

The cable channel mysteriously pulled a May 28 episode of its “Vice” newsmagazine series that was to focus on the Florida governor’s stint as a U.S. Navy lawyer in Guantanamo Bay. The news report was titled “The Gitmo Candidate & Chipping Away,” described in a now-scrubbed Showtime promo as an investigation into “allegations from former Guantanamo Bay detainees that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis witnessed acts condemned by the United Nations as torture during his past service at the controversial detention camp as a Navy JAG officer,” the outlet noted.

Showtime told HuffPost it does not comment on scheduling decisions. A “Vice” spokesperson said that current affairs shows are subject to scheduling changes and that the broadcast of the episode was “still in discussion.”

HuffPost reached out to DeSantis’ camp and didn’t immediately hear back.

DeSantis has fended off claims that he witnessed the force-feeding of hunger-striking inmates at Guantanamo Bay. DeSantis, now a distant second behind former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, was assigned to the U.S. military prison in March 2006 to deal with the hunger strikes, according to Snopes. 

HuffPost also sought comment from Showtime and “Vice,” whose parent company Vice Media filed for bankruptcy last month.