The Phil Robertson GQ interview was an attempt by A&E to manipulate the Duck Dynasty star, according to sources close to the Duck Commander.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , it’s not surprising to hear Sarah and Bristol Palin supporting Phil’s stance on homosexuality , but even a well-known gay professor is saying liberals are being “Stalinist” in their treatment of Robertson .
Unfortunately, A&E’s plan may have backfired since the Duck Dynasty family stood their ground , publicly saying they wouldn’t back down against A&E, and Phil didn’t intend his statements to be an attack or an act of hate against the LGBT community:
“I love all men and women. I am a lover of humanity, not a hater.”
But some unnamed sources allegedly close to Phil Robertson have claimed A&E set the Duck Commander up in order to get them “back into line after Television executives grew tired of the family pushing their deeply-held, Christian beliefs…”
“You have to ask yourself, why this interview happened and why it ever became public. Someone from A&E was there and was aware of the kind of answers Phil was giving. But despite that, they didn’t ever try to stop it or control it. Instead, they let it hit the headlines and then released a statement condemning it. ‘It is our belief that they knew what was going to happen and then used the situation to exercise control over Phil.”
After all, an A&E representative was in the same room as Phil, and could have protested the question by GQ or requested the answer be removed. And this isn’t the first time A&E has stood up against the Duck Dynasty clans’ personal beliefs in the Bible and Jesus. They wanted to cut out all prayers “in Jesus name” because they feared Muslims might be offended. Editors even inserted fake cursing bleeps when there was never any profanity being used.
Phil says he’s always been preaching about sin and Jesus Christ for years:
“If you give them the bad news, they’ll start kicking and screaming. But you love them more than you fear them, so you tell them.”
So for him to mention homosexuality in the manner he did was not something new. Since A&E would have known this history, the Duck Dynasty family allegedly believes A&E is trying to force them to fit their stereotype:
‘It is our understanding that when the TV executives came up with the concept for the show they wanted it to be a case of people laughing at a bunch of backward rednecks. But when it didn’t turn out like that and people actually started identifying with the way the family behaved and were laughing with them, not at them, they became uncomfortable. It did not sit will with the New York TV types.”
Of course, this plan has backfired on A&E since the Duck Dynasty ratings are plunging due to the boycott . While we probably won’t see Duck Dynasty Season 5 cancelled , and Phil Robertson will still be in the episodes, it’s possible Season 6 could go to another network if fans have their way .