This Dog has been chained.
A&E has indefinitely pulled all airings of Dog the Bounty Hunter effective Friday, two days after star Duane "Dog" Chapman's racist rant hit the Internet.
"In evaluating the circumstances of the last few days, A&E has decided to take Dog the Bounty Hunter off the network's schedule for the foreseeable future," the network said in a statement. "We hope that Mr. Chapman continues the healing process that he has begun."
An A&E spokesperson insisted the network's flagship series—one of the top-rated shows on cable with around 2 million viewers per first-run episode—has not been canceled.
The network had already suspended production on the show on Wednesday, shortly after Chapman's N-bomb-laced conversation was posted online by the National Enquirer.
"When the inquiry is concluded, we will take appropriate action," A&E said in an earlier statement.
Civil-rights leaders have decried Chapman's outburst, and at least two advertisers pulled their sponsorship before A&E's decision to shelve Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Chapman, 54, quickly issued a written apology for the comments, which came during a private phone call with son Tucker.
"I have the utmost respect and aloha for black people who have suffered so much due to racial discrimination and acts of hatred," the elder Chapman said.
"I did not mean to add yet another slap in the face to an entire race of people who have brought so many gifts to this world. I am ashamed of myself and I pledge to do whatever I can to repair this damage I have caused."
In the recording, the Hawaii-based TV star refers to his son's African-American girlfriend, Monique Shinnery, as a "f—king n----r," and tells Tucker he can't work in the family's bounty-hunting business while dating her.
Earlier Friday, Chapman's Honolulu lawyer, Brook Hart, told E! Online that Tucker sought to embarrass his father by selling the tape to the Enquirer for "thousands of dollars," because the bounty hunter disapproved of his son's relationship with Shinnery. (The Enquirer has refused to say how it obtained the tape or how much it cost.)
Hart said the elder Chapman had received information that Tucker's girlfriend had recording equipment and planned to tape the bounty hunter using the N-word.
The attorney reiterated Duane Chapman's statement that it wasn't Shinnery's race but his own questions about her character that set him off. "He was only trying to tell [Tucker], 'Don't do this recording to shake me down,' " said Hart.
"He has nothing against black people. His minister's black," Hart continued. "I don't think he has a hint of racial bias in his makeup. But as a man who grew up in the South, is someone who went to prison and is a man of the street, I think the N-word is something he hasn't completely avoided [using]...in an endearing way or a street way."
Nonetheless, Hart said the comments were inexcusable.
"Duane is very remorseful and is committed to not using the N-word again," Hart said. "He apologizes to Monique and Tucker for the words and accusations as well as to his fans. He recognizes it's not appropriate and is done with it."
The lawyer described Duane and Tucker's relationship as "estranged." Hart also said the bounty hunter is asking fans not to "castigate" Shinnery, who has reportedly received a lot of hate mail in the wake of the incident.
Dog the Bounty Hunter premiered in 2004, a year after Duane Chapman won fame hunting down Max Factor heir and convicted rapist Andrew Luster in Mexico.
Earlier this year, Chapman and his cohorts were cleared by a Mexican court, after prosecutors sought to enforce the country's anti-bounty-hunting statutes.