Perhaps in response to the astounding number of eye-rollingly overwrought reactions or perhaps in an action it always planned anyway, A&E has backed off its decision to suspend Phil Robertson and agreed to allow the Duck Dynasty star and his family back on air.
“While Phil’s comments made in the interview reflect his personal views based on his own beliefs, and his own personal journey, he and his family have publicly stated they regret the ‘coarse language’ he used and the mis-interpretation of his core beliefs based only on the article. He also made it clear he would ‘never incite or encourage hate,'” the network said in a statement.
“Duck Dynasty is not a show about one man’s views,” A&E continued. “It resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family… a family that America has come to love. As you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. These are three values that we at A&E Networks also feel strongly about.”
Robertson had been suspended after making anti-gay, anti-Muslim and racist comments to GQ. Among other things, he said: “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men… Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
An onslaught of conservatives have since jumped to Robertson’s defense, one comparing him to Rosa Parks and another calling his suspension “the mark of the beast.” A&E even received death threats.
Things came to a particularly ridiculous head late this week, first when Alabama lawmaker Jerry Fielding, a Republican, announced that he would introduce a resolution declaring that Robertson “should be celebrated as a hero for courageously revealing his self-truth and Christian ideals in a world that can be unkind towards those with a conservative mind-set.”
A&E “bowed to pressures from liberal groups rather than respecting Robertson’s biblically correct views,” Fielding said.
Then TMZ reported that one of Robertson’s mega-fans in Arizona would be filing a lawsuit against A&E, reportedly on the grounds that the network is “chilling his right to hate homosexuals.”
And, to top it all off, a few hours before A&E’s announcement on Friday, an anonymous group launched “Chick-Phil-A” day, telling supporters to eat at Chick-Fil-A on Jan. 21 while sporting “Duck Commander or camouflage gear.”
Now that Robertson will be back on the air, Chick-Fil-A can perhaps avoid hosting Robertson supporters and focus on hosting events in support of its own president, who made his own set of ant-gay comments.
Perhaps in response to the astounding number of eye-rollingly overwrought reactions or perhaps in an action it always planned anyway, A&E has backed off its decision to suspend Phil Robertson and agreed to allow the Duck Dynasty star and his family back on air.
“While Phil’s comments made in the interview reflect his personal views based on his own beliefs, and his own personal journey, he and his family have publicly stated they regret the ‘coarse language’ he used and the mis-interpretation of his core beliefs based only on the article. He also made it clear he would ‘never incite or encourage hate,'” the network said in a statement.
“Duck Dynasty is not a show about one man’s views,” A&E continued. “It resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family… a family that America has come to love. As you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. These are three values that we at A+E Networks also feel strongly about.”
Robertson had been suspended after making anti-gay, anti-Muslim, and racist comments to GQ. Among other things, he said: “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men… Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
An onslaught of conservatives have since jumped to Robertson’s defense, one comparing him to Rosa Parks and another calling his suspension “the mark of the beast.” A&E even received death threats.
Things came to a particularly ridiculous head late this week, first when Alabama lawmaker Jerry Fielding, a Republican, announced that he would introduce a resolution declaring that Robertson “should be celebrated as a hero for courageously revealing his self-truth and Christian ideals in a world that can be unkind towards those with a conservative mind-set.”
A&E “bowed to pressures from liberal groups rather than respecting Robertson’s biblically correct views,” Fielding said.
Then TMZ reported that one of Robertson’s mega-fans in Arizona would be filing a lawsuit against A&E, reportedly on the grounds that the network is “chilling his right to hate homosexuals.”
And, to top it all off, a few hours before A&E’s announcement on Friday, an anonymous group launched “Chick-Phil-A” day, telling supporters to eat at Chick-Fil-A on January 21 while sporting “Duck Commander or camouflage gear.”
Now that Robertson will be back on the air, Chick-Fil-A can perhaps avoid hosting Robertson supporters and focus on hosting events in support of its own president, who made his own set of ant-gay comments.
More political commentary is available on What America Thinks on FilmOn:
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