US: Louisiana Governor defends reality TV personality who compared homosexuality to bestiality
The Governor of the US state of Louisiana has defended a personality from a reality TV series after he received heavy criticism and was suspended for comparing homosexuality to bestiality in an interview.
Phil Robertson, known for his appearance on the reality show Duck Dynasty, was placed on “indefinite hiatus” by the A+E network, after he equated homosexuality with bestiality in an interview to GQ.He also questioned why gay men would prefer “a man’s anus” over a vagina and said being gay is a sin.
Robertson had been asked to describe sin by the magazine, and replied: “It seems like, to me, a vagina – as a man – would be more desirable than a man’s anus. I mean, come on dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.
“Start with homosexual behaviour and just morph out from there,” he continued. “Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and those men.”
Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal jumped to his family’s defence, saying that they are “great citizens” of the state where the show is filmed.
He went on to attack the “politically correct crowd” for criticising the comments by Robertson.
“I don’t agree with quite a bit of stuff I read in magazine interviews or see on TV. In fact, come to think of it, I find a good bit of it offensive,” Jindal said in a statement.
“But I also acknowledge that this is a free country and everyone is entitled to express their views. In fact, I remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment. It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended.”
A&E Networks, which produces Duck Dynasty, said in a statement that Robertson’s “personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community.”
