Tim Allen has reacted to the cancellation of his popular ABC sitcom "Last Man Standing" amid accusations the show was axed due to its conservative values.
"Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years," the outspoken Christian actor wrote Tuesday night.
ABC announced it canceled Allen's show after six seasons, citing a "scheduling decision." However, because of the show's sterling ratings -- it was the network's second-highest comedy this season and averaged 8.1 million viewers -- many have suggested the sitcom was cancelled because of its conservative views.
"Last Man Standing stands out in the sea of network television sitcoms," reads a Change.org petition calling for the reinstatement of the show. "It is a show that appeals to a broad swath of Americans who find very few shows that extol the virtues with which they can identify; namely conservative values."
It adds, "Last Man Standing is one of the only shows on broadcast television, and the only sitcom, that is not constantly shoving liberal ideals down the throats of the viewers. And sadly, that is likely the real reason the show has been cancelled."
As of Thursday morning, the petition has has garnered over 321,277 signatures.
Former Gov. of Arkansas Mike Huckabee expressed a similar sentiment on his website:
"There's a lot of grumbling in conservative circles this week about ABC cancelling Tim Allen's sitcom, 'Last Man Standing.' That's understandable: it's just about the only show in prime time that presents a conservative point of view without attacking it and makes fun of PC liberals," he wrote.
The conservative commentator added that most likely, Disney, the left-leaning corporate owner of ABC, is "punishing Allen for attending Trump's inauguration and speaking out against rigid leftwing Hollywood group-think."
However, he acknowledged that ABC is not getting syndication fees from new episodes to cover production costs, which could be a legitimate reason for letting it go after six seasons.
"Still, you'd have to be from another planet to think the networks haven't used their programming decisions to try to push a liberal social agenda onto viewers who just want entertainment," Huckabee continued.
"For instance, they seem to believe there are as many gay, lesbian and transgender people for real as you'd think there were from all the media attention they get."
Allen's co-stars have also weighed in on the cancellation; Nancy Travis, who plays Allen's wife Vanessa Baxter on the show, has been retweeting fans' efforts to boycott ABC until they bring back "Last Man Standing", notes Fox News.
In addition, Amanda Fuller, who plays Allen's daughter Kristen, asked fans to sign the petition in support of the show.
"To all the devoted 'Last Man Standing' fans, thank you," she wrote in a lengthy note. "I believe in the power that lies in storytelling being a mirror to our world, representing all voices...and for that reason I have always been proud and honored to be a part of 'Last Man Standing,' the only sitcom today that I feel truly strived to do that."
Meanwhile, ABC's entertainment president Channing Dungey maintained in a conference call that the show was cancelled for "business and scheduling reasons."
"['Last Man Standing'] was a challenging one for me because it was a steady performer in the ratings," Dungey said, according to the report. "Once we made the decision to not continue with comedies on Friday, that was where we landed," she added.
However, she admitted she "wouldn't say that was the sole factor in not bringing 'Last Man Standing' back."
