The A&E cable network's decision to lift the suspension of "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson after his remarks about gays opens the door for more bigotry, says gay activist Wayne Besen, founder of TruthWinsOut.com.
"It was appalling, it sets a very dangerous precedent, and maybe [has] ushered us into a new era where we think bigots are just another minority, a niche to target for marketing," Besen told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
"It's going to backfire on a lot of people, including conservative Christians, when it's open season and people can say whatever they want about anybody as long as it's making money," Besen said Monday.
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Robertson, 67, patriarch of the family featured in the wildly popular reality show about a family in the duck-call business, was suspended for remarks he made in an interview with GQ magazine.
Among other things, he said: "Everything is blurred on what's right and what's wrong . . . start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Beastiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and those men."
Besen says "we're a much better society when we actually suspend people, like Robertson, who make obnoxious comments that are bigoted."
"It's a big mistake if we create a Wild West environment in the media where these people can go say anything they want as long as they can cash their checks making money for the network."
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