Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson recently denounced the dangers of cancel culture as he recalled his own experience of being canceled when the A&E network suspended him from the show for calling homosexuality sinful.
Robertson, who released his new book, Uncanceled: Finding Meaning and Peace in a Culture of Accusations, Shame, and Condemnation, on Tuesday, told Fox News Digital about the backlash he received for believing that homosexuality was a sin during a 2013 interview with GQ Magazine.
At the time, GQ asked Robertson what he considered to be sinful. In response, the 75-year-old said, "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men."
Robertson, who hosts In the Woods with Phil on BlazeTV.com, also shared a paraphrased version of 1 Corinthians 6:9 saying, "Don't be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers – they won't inherit the kingdom of God. Don't deceive yourself. It's not right."
Following the interview, A&E indefinitely suspended Robertson from his Duck Dynasty reality television show. The network would later reinstate him following a wave of support, including 1.5 million likes on a Facebook page calling for the show's boycott until Robertson's suspension was lifted.
Nevertheless, Robertson holds no hard feelings towards the network and those who canceled him. He also told Fox News Digital that he did not regret doing the GQ interview.
"No regrets at all – none," he said. "I just went on. I never called A&E and said, 'What are you doing?' I never said a word when they came to visit me about 10 days after this all went down. I said, 'Guys, did y'all ever hear from me with some kind of irate phone call? 'Cause you were firing me?' They said, 'Mr. Robertson, you never said a word.'
"I quoted a Bible verse that dealt with homosexual behavior," he continued. "I just quoted the Bible verse that God had written through Paul the Apostle by the power of the Holy Spirit … I didn't dream it off the top of my head. It didn't go any further than that."
As a professing Christian, Robertson said his faith has remained a constant presence in his life, even through tough times.
"The Apostle Paul told Timothy that whoever lives a godly life in Christ will be persecuted," he said. "So we take persecution as a badge of honor. It doesn't bother us at all. We just take it in and say, 'I don't hold anyone against it.' Instead, we focus on telling others about Jesus and keep moving."
He also denounced cancel culture for "going too far" as it contradicts the biblical teaching on forgiveness.
"I hope that people would quit accusing each other," Robertson said. "We're all guilty of sin. We all make mistakes. Therefore, you have no excuse to pass judgment on someone else. That's what people do. They find a mistake you made when you were 18 years old or something you said on the internet long ago. Then they go after you with a vengeance."
"You're condemning yourself by passing judgment on others," he argued. "Do you think you'll escape God's judgment? In a culture of accusations, shame and condemnation, I'm just trying to speak out about the word of God… Just forgive each other and move on, for crying out loud."
Related:
Pope Francis Attacked Cancel Culture. His Real Target Is 'Ideological Colonization.'
Cancel Culture Is Unbiblical and Could Be a Sign of the End Times, David Jeremiah Says
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Alex Wong/Staff
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
