Posted on 12/19/2013 5:49:34 PM PST by Battle Hymn of the Republic
I'm tired of people getting in trouble for expressing their opinions, popular or not. A person should say what they believe, and we should support their right to say it, whether we disagree or not. This is America. Then again, I don't own a company that depends on revenue generated by quirky Louisiana duck hunters, who look like ZZ Top and believe homosexuality is wrong and Southern blacks were a lot happier back in the good old days.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Therefore, the lines are drawn. With this action A&E has doomed the best thing that has happened to it in years. I for one will be cancelling my cable subscription in the next 2 weeks in protest, with this being a prime reason. I choose to not support those that would punish someone for their personal beliefs, which in this case was a prerequisite tenant to this show to begin with. I am done with the hypocrisy being shown here, and I will protest with my wallet...
the Dixie Broads insulted their buying public by making unpatriotic statements on foreign soil. They failed to understand their market and disrespected them and offended their sensibilities by insulting Texas and a sitting president. They screwed up. There is no correlation to Phil Robertson or his exhibition of faith and facts.
I guess bad mouthing homos off the set was a breach of contract...I guess this means the bearded guy will have to pay up and or publicly apologize to the sodomites.
Makes ya wonder why he’d sign a contract like that in the first place.
The funny part about that is Willy (Phil's son) and his wife adopted a half-black son and named him Will, Jr. I highly doubt anyone in that family would say anything disparaging about the black community since Phil has a half-black grandson.
Now, look at them in the ghettos, blaming "Whitey" for their poverty and creating chaos in their neighborhoods and all over the cities.
Traditional family with love and usually religion made for better people and more stability. Now, even the rich, like Oprah are forever disgruntled. Don't think O realizes how blessed she is to be in this country. She would never have made it so big elsewhere. Likewise Morgan Freeman et al.
vaudine
We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E’s decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil’s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Phil would never incite or encourage hate. We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right. We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but, as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty. Again, thank you for your continued support of our family.
As I read the above, each cast member has a separate contract with A&E, Phil is in violation of his, and the network is going to hold the others liable for theirs.
Thanks for posting, kcvl.
Dixie Chicks and Duck Dynasty are NOT analogous.
Dixie Chicks - faced a direct backlash by their fans/the public for expressing their opinion.
Duck Dynasty - The network is punishing Phil for expressing his opinion. The network is facing a backlash by the shows fans/the public for their repression of his opinion.
It would be idiotic to suggest that expressing one’s opinion in showbiz should have no repercussions. It is just as idiotic to suggest that enforcing repercussions against a showbiz icon in spite of the icon’s fans sentiments should have no repercussions.
well, you’d have to look at the contract language.
if it were just a standard at will employment arrangement,
AE are free, as are all employers, (excepting non at-will states) to can someone for any reason or no reason. if however there is a contract stipulating conditions of employment, and if one of the conditions were that one has to hold one’s tongue in public about controversial issues, then yes he could be removed from AE’s show. and if the property of the show belongs to AE, which seems likely, DD would need to become something else in order to avoid litigation..
The loss of popularity they experienced based on their opinions was a consequence, but not imposed by their promoters.
If people who attended their concerts and ought their music had agreed, they'd be doing fine. It didn't work that way.
Apparently, A&E does not have the courage to let the chips fall where they may. Mr. Robertson and his family have ended every show in a prayer, a reminder to the rest of us to thank Him from whom all Blessings flow.
Recall, if you will, these folks were doing well with a premier line of game calls before there was a show.
Perhaps the producers are at a loss that one of the most popular shows on cable seldom requires a 'bleep' for language, references The Almighty, and now the patriarch of the family has given an honest and Biblically based opinion of homosexuality which will be revealed as having a lot more support than the heterophobes imagined.
Do you think any of the Robertsons signed a contract that said they wouldn’t talk about their religious beliefs?
I’m sure some kind of contract was signed, but a) we don’t know what it says and b) we have no way of knowing if Robertson understood what he was signing.
most celebs sign an undertaking not to commit inconsistent with the image of the corp they are contracting with. the definition of inconsistent is probably subject to debate at this point.
Right.
so relax, have a cigar, and eventually we’ll all know.
Gee, thanks for the advice, but I think I’ll post my thoughts about it anyway.
Name one network that holds those values.
A & E is really Disney, the Homosexual friendly network.
Frankly the uproar over the Dixie Chicks was infantile.
As if poor little George Bush - who is not even a real Texan, but an East Coast Yale educated plutocrat - needed our protection.
“As I read the above, each cast member has a separate contract with A&E, Phil is in violation of his, and the network is going to hold the others liable for theirs.”
Didn’t realize you had read Phil’s contract. I hope they sue A&E in violation of his right to his beliefs without retribution because of the Gay Mafia. Remember Imus & what NBC had to fork over after his comments about a basketball team?
yes, u are right. he had religious beliefs and he expressed them when asked.
this is fundamental.
I was chilled when I heard a homosexual (on CNN, I think), named Wilson Cruz, I believe, say something like “The world is changing, the nation is changing, and even Phil Robertson’s own state is changing. He better get in line.”
Could you have a more totalitarian statement?
The Dixie Chicks “uproar” was fan-based, not corporate suppression of speech. I was part of that group of fans who liked them but when they decided to bash the President, I walked.
I have no idea what sort of morals clauses might have been in the contract ... I was thinking more in terms of the family being contractually obligated to some number of future episodes not yet filmed. And again, I have no idea if they have such obligation.
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