Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson Says God Penalizes Gays With AIDS
Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson’s ant-gay stance is nothing new, but in a recent interview with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, the A&E celebrity made it clear that AIDS is God’s way of penalizing gays. Robertson, 68, states that there is “no coincidence” that AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases occur when gays practice what he believes is “sexual immorality.”
Pondering the topic during last week’s interview, Robertson asked Perkins, “Do you think it’s a coincidence that all of these debilitating — literally that can cause death — diseases follow that kind of conduct?” Minutes later, he answered his own question, stating, “God says, ‘One woman, one man,’ and everyone says, ‘Oh, that’s old hat, that’s old Bible stuff.'”
Phil Robertson's biblical belief that God wants a man & woman to keep sex within confines of marriage isn't exactly groundbreaking news.
— Tony Perkins (@tperkins) September 12, 2014
UPI reports that Robertson was temporarily suspended from Duck Dynasty after he declared that homosexuality is a sin and similar to bestiality. He returned to the show, which ended its sixth season in August, but that didn’t stop him from talking about his anti-gay stance. Just three months after he was suspended by A&E, he once again talked about the sins of homosexuality at an Easter sermon. His recent rant about AIDs and sexually transmitted diseases is a clear indication that Robertson will never stop sharing his hate messages.
“But I’m thinking, well let’s see now. A clean guy — a disease-free guy and a disease-free woman — they marry and they keep their sex between the two of them. They’re not going to get chlamydia, and gonorrhea, and syphilis and AIDS. It’s safe.”
During his interview with the Family Research Council, Phil Roberston tells Tony Perkins that he believes it could be “the wildest coincidence” that gays get AIDS when they participate in what he says is immoral conduct, but he’s more convinced that it is God’s way of making gays pay the price for their actions.
“Either it’s the wildest coincidence ever that horrible diseases follow immoral conduct, or, it’s God saying, ‘There’s a penalty for that kind of conduct. I’m leaning towards there’s a penalty for it.”
Have Phil Robertson’s anti-gay comments hurt the ratings for the popular A&E reality show? The Christian Post reports that while the ratings have dropped since Robertson first started ranting about homosexuality, the show is still viewed by millions of viewers who don’t seem to mind his backwards thinking.
However, this season has seen the biggest loss in viewership, with Deadline reporting that Duck Dynasty season finale that aired in August pulled in 6 million viewers, down 29 percent from the Season 6 premiere.
[Image: @AETV Twitter]
