It just amazes me at all the comments and posts about this.  I've read the same comment over and over about this, just worded differently.  I'm almost in the frame of mind that they did it for publicity.  You never know or will  ever know. My hubby watched the show all the time, but when he saw this on the news, his remark was, "They won't be here long. He's an idiot."

Joann, it gets worse. They just found a video of him from 2010 stating that all abortion is wrong. It is going viral on youtube. Going to be interesting to see how this plays out. His daughter in laws said in two different interviews if something were to happen, the family would immediately quit the show rather than see themselves split apart and fight over the TV show. Guess we will see which is stronger, the family ties or the money they have been raking in.

It doesn't bother me that the guy hates gays, or that he spouted off some back woods fundamentalist hatred. What bothers me is adults of voting age, in politics, who know nothing of the constitution.

Freedom of speech is no guarantee you will have a job after you spout off. There is no constitutional right to a TV show.

Some of the people who've been most vocally opposed to him getting fired strongly advocate personal responsibility. Note the irony.

The thing I laugh about Russ is the fact he is on suspension, not fired.

I find it kind ironic that the family is staying silent.  I'm like a pit bull when it comes to Kyle and Andi:P

The thing I laugh about Russ is the fact he is on suspension, not fired.

Sorry, I misunderstood. That's what happens when you get your tabloid news second-hand.

An update concerning the family:

The family called into question the future of the show.

"We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right. We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but, as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty," the statement said.

I felt sure the family would back Phil. What surprises me is that everyone outside of the south is surprised that a southern christian hick would believe any differently. Notice that I didn't say "white" southern christian?

While the south is becoming more tolerant than it was 50 years ago, there is still a different culture here in the south than the one enjoyed by our yankee and left coast brothers and sisters.

Welcome to my world. Just remember, it isn't called the Bible Belt for nothing.

It doesn't bother me that the guy hates gays, or that he spouted off some back woods fundamentalist hatred. What bothers me is adults of voting age, in politics, who know nothing of the constitution.

 

Freedom of speech is no guarantee you will have a job after you spout off. There is no constitutional right to a TV show.

 

Some of the people who've been most vocally opposed to him getting fired strongly advocate personal responsibility. Note the irony.

I read what you wrote and immediately thought to myself what a horrible world it would be if there was a constitutional right to a TV show.

I watched the show with my father while I was at my parent's house for Thanksgiving.  I think I saw about 3 episodes.  Each one was the same and while I could see why some people think it is funny, they are clearly acting for the camera.  My father laughed over and over.

What I saw was this: People disrespecting other people.  People sitting around a shop and doing nothing instead of working.  The CEO brother taking his kids to the dentist and exploiting their behavior under anesthesia on national TV.  At the end of the episodes, they pray, but if you look at the table, it only represents a portion of the family and the dinner is staged.  It isn't reality.  In the real world, if you go into a room and tell everyone that your brother or uncle is an idiot, there will likely be hurt feelings over it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... I don't care what he said.  I don't care what A&E does.  I wouldn't watch another episode unless I felt forced to do so.

I am with AJ.  The show made little to no sense to me BEFORE this incident.  It didn't shock me that he held prejudiced views, nor did it shock me that A&E are now trying to control the damage. What DOES shock me is that someone thought the show was a good idea in the first place. But then - I don't much care for any of the so-called reality TV shows. Might as well make a weekly series about me doing the laundry - its about as interesting in my opinion.

You may not like what Phil Robertson said about gays.  I don't either.  I also do not watch Duck Dynasty.  I'm not a fan of redneck humor even though I grew up in the south.  I do like some of Jeff Foxworthy's jokes poking fun at rednecks: You may be a redneck if you ever cut your grass and found a car.

If Phil Robertson is nothing else, he's sincere.  Unfortunately, he is also politically incorrect as seen in his interview with GQ.

I don't know if the Duck Dynasty show will survive.  It could move to another network or A&E could relent.  Reportedly A&E had a problem the first season with the show ending with a prayer before dinner using the name of Jesus.  The Robertsons won that argument.

“Duck Dynasty” first aired in 2012. Phil Robertson said he initially tangled with producers over the portrayal of the family’s faith, insisting the word “Jesus” not be edited out of prayers. For a time, they bleeped out language that wasn’t actually foul, attempting to make the family look more edgy. Robertson put a stop to that.

From The Tennessean, Apr. 27, 2013

 The network's hair trigger response to Phil's unfortunate comments on gays may be an effort to blunt the family's request for higher pay for the wildly popular show.

In today's 12/21 NYT OP-ED section, Charles M. Blow writes:

Robertson's interview reads as a commentary almost without malice, imbued with a matter-of-fact, this-is-just-the-way-I-see-it kind of Southern folksiness. To me, that is part of the problem. You don't have to operate with a malicious spirit to do tremendous harm. Insensitivity and ignorance are sufficient. In fact, intolerance that is disarming is the most dangerous kind. It can masquerade as morality.

The article continues and then focuses on Robertson's comments as concerns the 'happy' black folks comments that were included in the GQ interview.

Most of the comments I've heard at work and out in public have to do with Phil's right to voice his beliefs. I've not heard one person say they agreed with him, but neither did I hear any of them condemn his opinion. Nor did any of them talk about no longer watching the show or refusing to buy any of their merchandise, which is everywhere you turn. So while "We've come a long way, baby!", we still have a very long way to go, it seems. Is it any wonder an old fart like me, living in a small Midwestern town, is still in the closet. (And if anyone thinks that's a cowardly way to live, do what most of us in similar circumstances do, and walk a mile in our shoes. It's called, simply, surviving.) Things are definitely getting better, but we're still 2 or 3 generations away from wholesale acceptance.

The Daily Mail has some late news.

Bowing to Pressure, A&E Revokes Suspension of ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star

Phil Robertson, center, with sons Jase, left, and Willie. The family essentially threatened to quit the lucrative reality show.

The indefinite suspension of Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the family at the center of the A&E Network’s huge ratings hit “Duck Dynasty,” became definite Friday — at zero episodes. The network announced he would not be suspended after all.

A&E released a statement, noteworthy both for its concessions to the Robertson family’s refusal to accept the suspension as well as its timing — at close of business on Friday of a holiday weekend on the slowest week of the year in the entertainment business.

The bottom line: Phil Robertson will resume work on the show when it begins taping new episodes in the spring.

New York Times article