Just when everyone thought the flap over controversial comments made by Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson had died down, the controversial show has caused another angry outburst on Twitter. This time the unlikely person drawing the angry ire of tweeters is none other than Liam Payne. That’s right. A member of the outrageously popular British pop band, One Direction, has gotten mixed up in a publicity nightmare that could tar his once squeaky clean image.
What did Payne do to stir up a bunch of duck feathers? He happened to publicly show his admiration for Duck Dynasty by tweeting a compliment to Willie Robertson, one of the principle stars of the widely popular Duck Dynasty reality show. According to ABC News, Payne sent a message that shared his “huge love” for Willie and his family. Payne’s tweet also stated how much he respected the Robertson’s for their business success and “family values.”
That was all it took to set off an online firestorm of negative tweets from One Direction fans and others. Payne was taken to task for allegedly supporting a family whose patriarch, Phil Robertson, recently made controversial comments concerning blacks and gay people.
Phil Robertson was temporarily suspended from his show while the network it airs on, A&E, contemplated what to do. After a short backlash from Duck Dynasty fans, the network relented and allowed Robertson back on the show. However, the bad aftertaste of those comments continue to linger on in the minds of many who were offended.
Being British and only twenty years of age, it could be argued that Payne was unaware how his comments would come across to fans. Some people equate his compliments to showing support for the elder Robertson’s views. However, the boy band member vehemently denies these assertions. After seeing the angry tweets in response to his earlier one, Payne sent this message out, “Being a fan of someone’s show and the way they still hold a family together doesn’t mean I am ok with all they say.”
Payne views himself to be just a regular fan of the show like many people. He went on to say, “I just watched a show and I liked it as most people do.”
He put that statement out after going on a bit of a rant in previous tweets. He stated he was “sick of stupid stories” and admonished fans to “grow up.”