‘Duck Dynasty’ Live Show Cancelled Due To Poor Ticket Sales
Looks like it’s not going so well for the Duck Dynasty gang. Amid the controversy earlier in the year with the LGBTQ community, the Robertson family has taken yet another hit as the backlash has extended over to poor ticket sales.
The live Duck Dynasty show in Missouri, which was said to heavily feature Phil Robertson, has been cancelled as the tickets weren’t selling enough for the venue. In a statement from JTK Productions, the company said they have decided to cancel the April 26 show at the JQH Arena in Springfield due to “unforeseen circumstances.” We’re sure the venue didn’t foresee poor ticket sales when they originally booked Robertson.
Our suspicions were met with somewhat of a confirmation when the arena’s director Keith Boaz spoke out about the cancelled Duck Dynasty event:
“We would like to thank the community of Springfield for their warm embrace and look forward to bringing exciting acts to the Springfield area.”
The Duck Dynasty star found himself embroiled in controversy and suspended from the A&E show when he went on an anti-gay tirade. Following his comments to GQ, A&E released a statement:
“We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty. His personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.”
During Robertson’s GQ interview, the reality star used stereotypes to identify certain groups and compared homosexuality with bestiality:
“We never, ever judge someone on who’s going to heaven, hell. That’s the Almighty’s job. We just love ’em, give ’em the good news about Jesus – whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists.”
Although Robertson was suspended from the show, a mere ten days later he returned to filming the hit reality show. Last month, the controversy was stirred up again by Willie Robertson, who defended his father’s remarks by saying that they were more about “God’s love” than anything else.
The once wildly popular show also suffered a huge hit when the controversy set in. After the premiere set a ratings high due to the media blitz, everything cooled down considerably, and the finale of Duck Dynasty saw a thirty percent drop in the ratings. As it stands right now, A&E has yet to renew the series for another season.
[Image Credit: A&E]
