Phil Robertson may want to choose his words more carefully the next time he submits to an interview. As previously reported, the 67-year-old Louisiana native has been indefinitely suspended from future episodes of Duck Dynasty, the A&E show that made him and his family famous, after he made virulently homophobic remarks in a sit-down with GQ. (The grizzled patriarch seemed to equate LGBT individuals with "terrorists" and "drunkards," suggesting that "homosexual behavior" could "morph" into "bestiality" and worse. "They won't inherit the kingdom of God," he added. "It's not right.")
As it turns out, the duck-call entrepreneur's GQ chat covered more than simply the subject of the LGBT community. When asked about whether he witnessed bigotry or racism against African-American people growing up in the pre-Civil-Rights South, the ousted reality star opined: "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," Robertson surmised.
He continued: "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."
Before A&E suspended him, Robertson addressed the homophobic comments in a statement. "My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and alsowhat the bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together," he said. "However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other."
