Duane “Dog” Chapman is facing some serious consequences after the nationwide disclosure of his racist rant last week.

Cable channel A&E announced last week that it would stop production on its hit series “Dog The Bounty Hunter,” upon learning of certain racist remarks that Duane Chapman, who stars in the show, made. Two days later, Friday, the show was pulled from the air indefinitely. This came after the National Enquirer posted on its website a private phone conversation in which Chapman use a racial slur.

The conversation was between the 54-year-old bounty hunter and his son Tucker, and Duane repeatedly used the N-word referring to Tucker’s girlfriend, an Afro-American woman.

A&E immediately responded, issuing the following statement: “We take this matter very seriously. Pending an investigation, we have suspended production on the series. When the inquiry is concluded we will take appropriate action.”

On Friday, the network took further measures. “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,” an A&E spokesman said. “We hope that Mr. Chapman continues the healing process that he has begun.”

The network has allegedly not made plans to cancel the show altogether yet, according to Reuters, and will review the situation again in a couple of weeks.

As to Chapman’s “healing process,” he was already apologizing Thursday. He explained that he was not criticizing his son’s girlfriend because of the color of her skin but because of her character, which he apparently does not approve of.

“I have the utmost respect and aloha for black people who have suffered so much due to racial discrimination and acts of hatred,” Chapman said in his public apology. “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.

“I was disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I should have never used that term,” he said.

It also became known that Chapman had quickly sought guidance and support from his spiritual advisor, the Rev. Tim Storey, who told TMZ.com that he was shocked and that Duane was not a racist.

“I was shocked, because I don't know that to be Duane. I felt that he had to be accountable to what he said. When I asked him what took place, why he said it, he said that he was angry with his son about many things.”

Storey added: “What shocked me was that he used the N word. I know he is not a racist. He's been to black churches with me to help inner-city kids.”

Duane Chapman’s lawyer Brook Hart added a new facet to the situation Friday, by commenting that his client discovered it was in fact his son Tucker who sold the tape with the conversation to the National Enquirer for “a lot of money.”

“I guess because of whatever level of anger he had of his father, he felt the need to express it in that manner,” Hart said, adding that Chapman discovered this after issuing his public apology.

Hart told the Associated Press: “I have never seen anything that suggests he judges people by the color of their skin or racial background or anything but on their character. Duane lost his composure and made very, very inappropriate remarks, for which he truly regrets.”

Duane’s A&E show debuted in August 2004, in the wake of his infamous capture of Max Factor heir and serial rapist Andrew Luster, in 2003. His reality show follows him and his team around as they pursue actual criminals who skip bail.

During the controversial conversation that has put Chapman’s career in jeopardy, he can be heard urging Tucker to break up with his girlfriend and expresses concern that she may expose the fact that he and his crew sometimes use the N-word. “I'm not taking a chance...not because she's black but because we use the word n----- sometimes here,” he says.