Ann Coulter believes that Phil Robertson didn’t say anything offensive and that the “gay mafia” is out to get him.
The political commentator and best-selling author quipped that Robertson, the Duck Dynasty patriarch, is her favorite TV star in a show that she’s never watched.
Robertson, a born-again Christian, is, of course, engulfed in a huge controversy after his anti-gay remarks were published in GQ Magazine, prompting his suspension from the hugely popular A&E reality show.
Coulter commented on the Phil Robertson suspension on Steve Malzberg’s Newsmax show (interview segment embedded above), calling it “outrageous and unbelievable.”
In addition to insisting that Robertson didn’t say anything offensive, Coulter observed that the Duck Dynasty star’s published remarks also condemned promiscuous heterosexual behavior and other sins all based on biblical precepts.
Continued Coulter about the activist groups which have denounced Robertson: “That’s what the good book says. And to just cite standard morality that has been around for thousands of years and have this — obviously not all gays — but this angry gay mafia gang up on you and demand your suspension has just gotten out of control. This is not good for the gays. And as we’ve seen … gay person after gay person is coming out and saying ‘what are you people doing, we believe in free speech.’ ”
As some evidence of what Coulter is contending, Camille Paglia, an openly gay, prominent feminist professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, decried political correctness and intolerance toward deeply-held religious beliefs on the part of Robertson’s detractors.
Political commentator Andrew Sullivan , who is also openly gay, blasted Phil Robertson’s suspension but for different reasons: “… Robertson is a character in a reality show. He’s not a spokesman for A&E any more than some soul-sucking social x-ray from the Real Housewives series is a spokeswoman for Bravo. Is he being fired for being out of character? Nah. He’s being fired for staying in character — a character A&E have nurtured and promoted and benefited from. Turning around and demanding a Duck Dynasty star suddenly become the equivalent of a Rachel Maddow guest is preposterous and unfair. What Phil Robertson has given A&E is a dose of redneck reality. Why on earth would they fire him for giving some more?”
What do you think of the defense of Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson by Ann Coulter and the other pundits?
[thumbnail image credit: David Shankbone ]