Well, that didn’t take long.
A&E said Friday it’s reinstating “Duck Dynasty” patriarch Phil Robertson — a little more than week after placing him on “indefinite hiatus” for controversial comments he made about homosexuality.
“[A]fter discussions with the Robertson family, as well as consulting with numerous advocacy groups, A&E has decided to resume filming ‘Duck Dynasty’ later this spring with the entire Robertson family,” the network said in a statement late Friday.
A&E reiterated that it does not share Robertson’s views in a recent GQ interview, which included comparing homosexuality to beastiality.
“Duck Dynasty’ is not a show about one man’s views. It resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family… a family that America has come to love,” the statement said. “As you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. These are three values that we at A+E Networks also feel strongly about.”
Parent company A+E Networks said it would launch a PSA campaign “promoting unity, tolerance and acceptance among all people” to air across its channels — A&E, History and Lifetime.
Robertson’s comments drew immediate outrage after being published online Dec. 18, both from advocacy groups like GLAAD –, which called his statements “vile” — conservative groups like Faith Driven Consumers, which collected more than 250,000 signatures on a petition calling for the network to immediately reinstate the patriarch.
Other members of the “Duck Dynasty” clan threatened to quit the show, saying in a statement posted to their Web site that “we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm.”
“Duck Dynasty” is a huge asset for A&E, ranking as the top nonfiction series on cable, with its most recent season premiere drawing a record 11.8 million viewers and spawning a branded line of merchandise.
Its fifth season — whose completed episodes had been filmed with Phil — premieres Jan. 15.