CNNers Argue Over Whether Duck Dynasty Star’s ‘Hate Speech’ Invites Anti-Gay Bullying
A panel on Thursday took on the issue of whether Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson should have been suspended indefinitely from the hit A&E show over comments he made in an interview in which he expressed his objection to homosexual activities. The panel guests battled over whether Robertson had perpetuated “dangerous” stereotypes by linking the gay lifestyle to bestiality and had invited “anti-gay bullying” which results in a number of violent incidents and suicides each year.
CNN anchor Carol Costello opened the segment by noting that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has come out against Robertson’s suspension.
“I don’t remember Governor Jindal putting out a statement calling for Martin Bashir of MSNBC to keep his job after he made what were seen as disrespectful statements against one woman, Sarah Palin,” said SiriusXM host and Huffington Post blogger Michelangelo Signorile.
“This man has attacked an entire group of people with horrific defamation,” he continued. “There should be ramifications. There should be outrage.”
RELATED: Duck Dynasty Star Suspended from Show for Comments About Homosexuality
“A&E didn’t hire the Robertson family to be Charlie Rose or George Will,” countered Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore. He added that Robertson primarily quoted from the Bible when he was critical of homosexuality and that those views are shared by millions across many faiths.
“He has every right to say what he feels about homosexuality and calling it a sin, but to tie it to something like bestiality, which isn’t even true, may be harmful because there are a lot of kids who are gay who are bullied because of comments like this,” Costello argued. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
Moore said that Costello had misinterpreted Robertson’s comments as linking homosexuality to bestiality when he was making a comparison about a variety of ethical limits.
“What he was engaging in was hate speech,” Signorile said. “This man made racist remarks, as well. He said blacks were better off in Jim Crow during lynchings.”
Watch the segment below via CNN:
[Photo via screen grab ]
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