New Mexico Breaking Bad statues are making Republicans furious: Here’s why

New Mexico recently unveiled statues of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, the central characters of Breaking Bad, the popular AMC series set in Albuquerque. However, conservative talk radio host Eddy Aragon and Republican state representative Rod Montoya are condemning the new installations. 

Breaking Bad follows White, played by Bryan Cranston, a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, who turns into a meth kingpin in an attempt to pay for his cancer treatments. He’s joined by Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, his former student, in a tragic tale spanning five seasons. 

The statues were unveiled at the Albuquerque Convention Center on July 30 and the event was attended by Cranston, Paul, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, and Tim Keller, the mayor of Albuquerque. 

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At the time, Gilligan had said honouring”two fictional, infamous meth dealers” wouldn’t be celebrated by all in New Mexico, and added, “In all seriousness, no doubt some folks are going to say, ‘Wow, just what our city needed.’ And I get that. I see two of the finest actors America has ever produced. I see them, in character, as two larger-than-life tragic figures, cautionary tales.”

Montoya, as predicted, echoed these sentiments to Fox News, saying “I’m glad New Mexico got the business, but really? We’re going down the road of literally glorifying meth makers?” 

Aragon added, “It’s not the type of recognition we want for the city of Albuquerque, or for our state”, continuing, “what you saw on ‘Breaking Bad’ should be a documentary, honestly. I think, really, that is the reality in New Mexico. We try to say it’s fictional, but that is the reality… we’ve joked that [‘Breaking Bad’] should be on PBS. That is, unfortunately, the reality.” 

The radio show host also derided the city’s decision to take down the statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate, the first Spanish governor of New Mexico. 

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“Now we’re putting fictional characters out in front. We have Jesse Pinkman and, of course, Heisenberg, and we have now erected statues and our progressive mayor from the city of Albuquerque has stood behind them. We’re funding those, so it’s OK to go get rid of real historical figures and now, somehow it’s even better, to [have] fictional, drug-dealing figures”, he said. 

Keller, Albuquerque’s mayor, however, has stood by his decision to erect the Breaking Bad statues, saying “While the stories might be fictional… jobs are real every single day. The city is also a character… We see ourselves in so many ways, good and bad.”