Jesse Jackson shared his opinion on “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, saying that the reality star is worse than the bus driver who ordered Rosa Parks to get up and move to the back of the bus.
The patriarch of the Roberston family has been in hot water lately after he expressed what some considered to be “homophobic” comments during an interview with GQ Magazine. He also said that he never personally witnessed the mistreatment of African-Americans in Louisiana when he was growing up.
According to civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Robertson’s comments were more offensive than the bus driver who sent Parks to the back of the bus because she was sitting in a white person’s seat.
“These statements uttered by Robertson are more offensive than the bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, more than 59 years ago,” Jackson said in a statement obtained by ABC News. “At least the bus driver, who ordered Rosa Parks to surrender her seat to a white person, was following state law. 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.’ ”
Jackson went on to say that he would like to meet with A&E executives immediately about Robertson’s comments and while the network has not responded to his request ,other advocates for equality are praising A&E for taking such swift action in this situation.
The future of the reality show is uncertain, but Jackson said he wanted to discuss the future of “Duck Dynasty” memorabilia as well.
Other leaders and policy makers, including Sarah Palin, have also been coming forward to share their opinion on the comments.
The former Alaskan governor and former Republican vice presidential candidate is defending Robertson against the backlash, saying that free speech is becoming an “endangered species.”
“These ‘intolerants’ hatin’ and taking on the “Duck Dynasty” patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us,” Palin wrote on her Facebook page.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal agreed with Palin saying, “Phil Robertson and his family are great citizens of the state of Louisiana. The politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with. I don’t agree with quite a bit of stuff I read in magazine interviews or see on TV.”
He went on to compare Robertson to Miley Cyrus who has also been scrutinized for comments she has made recently.
“It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh and Phil Robertson gets suspended,” he added.
Phil Robertson is still suspended from the reality show while the rest of the Robertson family says they will refuse to continue y filming without Phil as a part of the show.
