In an article posted Friday on her blog, Bristol Palin followed in her mother’s footsteps to defend Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson after his anti-gay comments to GQ. Palin, 23, titled the post “Leave Phil Robertson Alone!” and went on to state the free speech line that most of Robertson’s defenders have relied on recently.
The daughter of former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin slammed the LGBT community as “hypocritical,” stating that she “hate[s] how the LGBT community says it’s all about ‘love’ and ‘equality’” until you disagree with “their lifestyle,” at which point “they spread the most hate.”
Absent from Palin’s blog post was any acknowledgement of Robertson’s racist remarks.
At the other end of the controversy, Charlie Sheen spoke up Sunday criticizing Robertson for his remarks. Sheen spoke out on Twitter, noting that Robertson’s remarks “offended and hurt so many dear friends” and called his statements unforgivable. The actor, known for speaking his mind, implied he was speaking out on behalf of those who “do not have the voice or the outreach” that he does.
A&E initially suspended Robertson indefinitely from future episodes of the highest rated reality show in the network’s history. The network will, however, be running an overwhelming 25 consecutive episodes in a marathon of Duck Dynasty beginning on Christmas Day. Season 5 of the show is set to premier Jan. 15 with Robertson scheduled to appear in several episodes that have already been filmed.
Meanwhile, Robertson has issued a statement standing by his remarks to GQ and his family has stated that they are uncertain about whether they will continue with the series if the patriarch is not involved.