“Duck Dynasty’s” Phil Robertson has been benched from his family’s reality show following homophobic comments he made in a GQ interview, A&E confirmed late Wednesday.Read the rest here.
The patriarch of the network’s hit show and self-proclaimed “Bible-thumper” called “homosexual behavior” a sin, equating it with other sins like bestiality and promiscuity.
“We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series ‘Duck Dynasty,’” A&E said in a statement. “His personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been supporters and champions of the LGBT community.”
The end result: “The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.”
I very rarely watch television anymore so I have no idea what the program is about. But I do know that they seem to be some sort of cultural phenomenon. In any event, this is outrageous. Have we reached the point where a person can be sacked or penalized by their employer for expressing their religious beliefs outside of the workplace?
If so, then we are in DEEP trouble as a country. Mr. Robertson might want to secure legal counsel. I don't know what the terms of his contract are, but he may have an actionable claim for religious discrimination.
5 comments:
Putin should invite him and family to the Winter Olympics as Guests of Honor.
John-
I agree with what you wrote except for the last two sentences.
Because A&E has a first amendment right to control the content of what it airs, it can keep Phil off the air. That will trump any religious discrimination claim he brings. Being a fan of the show, I seriously doubt he will sue. However, he will lose any lawsuit he brings against A&E.
But he didn't make the comment within the "content of what [A&E] airs," he made it on his own time,in an interview with a magazine. That, surely, must be protected speech.
I have not seen the show (as we don't have or watch t.v. here), but even if I had and were a fan, I would exercise my first amendment right to change the channel, now. I have seen products associated with the show, some of which use "Faith and Family" as their catchwords. I guess it is just so much false advertising.
Lawoski is right, he would not be able to win a lawsuit unless A&E violated a specific provision of his contract.
Lawyers get accused of being pedantic for pointing this out, but it bears repeating: The First Amendment only applies to the government. With few exceptions, private entities or individuals are under no obligation to accomodate your speech. A&E can suspend him, as surely as I can ask one of Jehovah's Witnesses to get out of my living room.
The great thing about the Robertson family is that they care more about truth and God than the almighty dollar. They saw their fame as an opportunity to tell others about Jesus.
A brief search on the internet reveals several videos of him and other members of the family preaching (they are some sort of low church Protestants). They simply and plainly state Christian morality, which is of course offensive to the world.
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