AP
Phil Robertson the star of 'Duck Dynasty' has been suspended by A&E over controversial comments on homosexuality - but his fans have come out in support of the reality star, as Cracker Barrel found out the hard way.
The managers of Cracker Barrel have egg on their faces over the growing "Duck Dynasty" debacle.
After the fast-food chain yanked show-related merchandise such as mugs, T-shirts and hats on Friday, company officials had to counter the swell of quacking-angry customers with a script to justify their boycott.
RELATED: ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ CONTROVERSY GALVANIZES PARTISAN BACKLASH[1]
Pat Wellenbach/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cracker Barrel has its employees seeing 'STARS,' as in 'Sorry,' 'Thank you,' 'Action,' 'Recover' and 'Share.'
The talking points were boiled down to the acronym "STARS," which stands for "Sorry," "Thank you," "Action," "Recover" and "Share."
"I'm sorry you are disappointed with us," employees were instructed to say to critical patrons. "I understand what you are saying, and I know this is important to you. What I can tell you is that we haven't recalled all of our Duck Commander merchandise and continue to offer Duck Commander products for sale."
RELATED: BRISTOL PALIN SLAMS 'HYPOCRITICAL' GAY COMMUNITY OVER 'DUCK DYNASTY' FLAP[2]
Although Robertson has been suspended indefinitely, A&E did show a rerun marathon on Christmas.
The eatery bucked duck-related items after Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the hit reality show, caused a stir with his incendiary remarks about gays and black people.
But company brass did an about-face on Sunday — re-shelving the goods and apologizing for "offending" any customers. It also shot down the embarrassing script.
PHOTOS: STARS WHO RUN THEIR MOUTHS INTO SCANDAL[3]
Jeff Reidel/ GQ
The trouble began when 'Duck Dynast' patriarch Phil Robertson, center, gave a controversial interview to GQ.
"You flat out told us we were wrong. We listened. Today, we are putting all our Duck Dynasty products back in our stores. And, we apologize for offending you," officials wrote in a statement posted on its Facebook page[4] .
"We respect all individuals' right to express their beliefs," the statement read[5] . "We certainly did not mean to have anyone think different."
RELATED: ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ FLAP SHOWS ENTERTAINERS SHOULD STOP FLAPPING LIPS[6]
Art Streiber/A&E
Customers are rushing to defend Phil Robertson's right to speak his mind.
The post garnered nearly 30,000 comments by Wednesday afternoon.
"We should boycott them at least thru (sic) January to show them their actions have consequences. Chick-Fil-A is now serving with Duck Commander cups," wrote one angry commenter.
RELATED: 'DUCK' STAR PHIL ROBERTSON SAYS HE IS 'LOVER NOT A HATER'[7]
LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS
Civil-rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson says at least the bus driver who demanded Rosa Parks go to the back of the bus was following the law — Phil Robertson was just running off his mouth.
Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. went after the show using the example of civil-rights hero Rosa Parks.
"At least the bus driver, who ordered Rosa Parks to surrender her seat to a white person, was following state law," Jackson said in a statement, according to the Chicago Tribune. "Robertson's statements were uttered freely and openly without cover of the law, within a context of what he seemed to believe was 'white privilege.'"
RELATED: CRACKER BARREL PRESSURED TO REVISE BAN ON ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ MERCHANDISE[8]
Julia Ramirez via YouTube
Cracker Barrel has decided in the end to back down and stand behind Phil Robertson.
In an interview with GQ magazine, the 67-year-old Robertson said homosexuality is a sin, and that black people, with whom he hoed cotton before the civil-rights movement in the South, "were singing and happy."
A&E made an immediate decision to indefinitely suspend Robertson from the hit show, which pulls in about 12 million viewers per episode.
But instead of blacking out the show entirely, the cable channel aired a 25-episode rerun marathon that started at 3:30 p.m. Christmas Day.
Two online-petition drives demanding Robertson's reinstatement and an apology from the network have collected more than 200,000 signatures.
"It's an absolute disaster for A&E," a source with inside knowledge of the scandal told RadarOnline Tuesday.
clestch@nydailynews.com
References
- ^ RELATED: ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ CONTROVERSY GALVANIZES PARTISAN BACKLASH (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ RELATED: BRISTOL PALIN SLAMS 'HYPOCRITICAL' GAY COMMUNITY OVER 'DUCK DYNASTY' FLAP (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ PHOTOS: STARS WHO RUN THEIR MOUTHS INTO SCANDAL (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ officials wrote in a statement posted on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com)
- ^ the statement read (www.facebook.com)
- ^ RELATED: ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ FLAP SHOWS ENTERTAINERS SHOULD STOP FLAPPING LIPS (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ RELATED: 'DUCK' STAR PHIL ROBERTSON SAYS HE IS 'LOVER NOT A HATER' (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ RELATED: CRACKER BARREL PRESSURED TO REVISE BAN ON ‘DUCK DYNASTY’ MERCHANDISE (www.nydailynews.com)
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