A behind-the-scenes incident with guest Louis Armstrong almost caused a racial boycott. Armstrong had recently criticized President Eisenhower, who had deployed military troops to Little Rock, AR after it's governor tried to prevent nine African-American children from entering an unintegrated school. The criticism caused certain factions to demand he cancel his appearance on the show. The pro-civil rights trumpeter stayed on, along with Diahann Carroll, Mahalia Jackson and Dinah Washington, in an integrated cast.