Phil Robertson, one of the stars of A&E's hit reality show "Duck Dynasty," is currently under fire and on suspension from the series indefinitely for making offensive comments about race and homosexuality in the latest issue of GQ magazine, and Sarah Palin recently rushed to defend him, HollywoodLife reports.
"Free speech is an endangered species. Those 'intolerants' hatin' and taking on the Duck Dynasty patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us," the Alaskan native wrote on her Facebook page.
The Louisiana-based family patriarch was quoted in the GQ interview as saying things like, "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there - bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men" and, "I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash. We're going across the field....They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, 'I tell you what: These doggone white people'—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues."
Fans and critics alike were shocked and appalled, calling Robertson's comments out as being homophobic and racist, and though many of his devoted fans have defended him, A&E made the decision to penalize Robertson on behalf of the network.
"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," the network said in a statement. "His personal views in no way reflect those of A+E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely."
