About That Duck Dynasty Guy

Man, have I seen a lot of outrage because Phil Robertson, one of the Duck Dynasty guys, was suspended for making some piggish comments about gays.


Having spent a pretty good part of my adult life working in TV, I would like to tell you something.  It's never about the principle- it's always about the money.  Here are two recent examples of this phenomenon, from either side of the political divide:  Paula Deen and Alex Baldwin.  Both were supposedly fired for unacceptable utterances, but here's the truth:  Paula Deen's ratings had been falling for a year and a half, and the network was looking for a chance to dump her; Baldwin's show, just a few weeks old, was obviously not working, and the network wanted out of it too.  They just gave the suits an excuse to do what they wanted to do anyway.

As for Robertson, remember he is a successful businessman and part of the most popular cable show on TV, not the ignorant cracker he is made out to be.  His network doesn't want to destroy the value of their big success, so they will have him go away until the furor has died down.  It has nothing to do with exactly what he said, and everything to do with the money.  That's TV, guys.  Deal with it.

Update:  And who ever thought that Green Eagle would have to accuse himself of not being cynical enough about TV?  I just read that the next season of Duck Dynasty is already in the can.  This jerk isn't suspended- he's on hiatus, and he will be right back when they start filming next season.  The whole "suspended" thing is nothing but a fraud. It isn't any more real than the preposterous nonsense that goes on in the shows.

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