Leave it to the British media to dig deeply into WHY the Duck Dynasty controversy even happened.

According to the online version of the British Daily Mail newspaper,  The Robertson family believes Phil was "set up" by the network.

Phil Robertson, the 67-year old leader of the closely-knit family who make up one of the most popular reality shows in recent memory, gave an interview to GQ Magazine where he was asked a number of controversial questions about gay and same-sex marriage.  According to the Daily Mail, this controversy was actually long in the making. The Daily Mail says it spoke with a source close to the family, who asked not to be named, and they told the paper:

"You have to ask yourself, why this interview happened and why it ever became public. Someone from A&E was there and was aware of the kind of answers Phil was giving.

‘But despite that, they didn’t ever try to stop it or control it. Instead, they let it hit the headlines and then released a statement condemning it.

‘It is our belief that they knew what was going to happen and then used the situation to exercise control over Phil.

‘It is our understanding that when the TV executives came up with the concept for the show they wanted it to be a case of people laughing at a bunch of backward rednecks.

‘But when it didn’t turn out like that and people actually started identifying with the way the family behaved and were laughing with them, not at them, they became uncomfortable. It did not sit will with the New York TV types. 

So it seems according to these sources very close to the Robertsons,  A&E got the success they were looking for from Duck Dynasty, but NOT in the way it was expected.  Sounds like they had hoped to turn them into a Beverly Hillbillies type of show, where people would tune in each week to mock these plain, simple, faith-based people.

The source went on to tell The Daily Mail:

"We believe they were also uncomfortable with the family’s insistence that there would be a strong religious presence in the show. They knew Phil was the driving force behind this and we think they have used this situation to bring him in line so they could steer the show back down the path they originally intended for it.

‘But they may have underestimated how united the family are and how committed they are to their beliefs. They also didn’t realize how much support Phil would get from the public, so things have backfired on them."

That's a plot twist nobody has been talking about here in the U.S.  But once you think about it for a bit, it does make sense, or seem possible.   No comment was issued about these claims from A&E.

 

 

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