A&E has indefinitely suspended "Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson after anti-gay comments he made in the January 2014 issue of GQ magazine.
Robertson, outspoken about his Christian faith, equated homosexuality with bestiality and called the lifestyle a sin.
"We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson's comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series 'Duck Dynasty'," A&E said in a statement on Wednesday.
"His personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely."
The Hollywood Reporter said that Robertson will likely appear in the new season, which begins Jan. 15, since production is nearly finished.
In the GQ interview, Robertson goes on record with comments about the sinfulness of gays and black people under Jim Crow.
In the profile, an unedited Robertson sounds off on what's ailing the country during a trip through the Louisiana backwoods.
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"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," he tells reporter Drew Magary. "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."
He also muses about his own sexual orientation: "It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man's anus. That's just me. I'm just thinking: There's more there! She’s got more to offer. 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."
GLAAD rep Wilson Cruz responded to Robertson's remarks with a statement:
"Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil's lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe. He clearly knows nothing about gay people or the majority of Louisianans -- and Americans -- who support legal recognition for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples.
"Phil's decision to push vile and extreme stereotypes is a stain on A&E and his sponsors who now need to reexamine their ties to someone with such public disdain for LGBT people and families.
However, A&E’S decision to suspend Phil Robertson for his remarks has caused some conservatives to come out in his defense.
Within hours of his suspension Thursday, he had drawn supportive statements from former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal, governor of his home state of Louisiana. A petition to return him to the show began circulating immediately.
"The politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with," Jindal said in a late-night statement. "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. 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."
"Free speech is an endangered species," Palin said on Facebook Wednesday night. "Those 'intolerants' hatin' and taking on the 'Duck Dynasty' patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us."
Chris Stone, founder of Faith Driven Consumer, the group behind the IStandWithPhil.com petition, said, "simply put, Phil Robertson is being censored and punished for quoting the Bible, and A&E’s treatment of him is punitive and highly discriminatory. Everyday people will not stand for this, they know bullying and violation of religious freedom when they see it. A&E’s actions are censoring Faith Driven Consumers and eliminating them from an entertainment choice that they have overwhelmingly supported."
In a quote that may raise even more eyebrows than his feelings about gays, Robertson claims he "never" saw black people mistreated during the pre-civil rights era in his home state, and strongly suggests that African Americans were more content under Jim Crow.
"Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash," he said. "They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues."
Robertson also shares an interesting rationale for voting for Mitt Romney over President Obama, saying he favored the candidate because he was from Salt Lake City, a safer city than Chicago. "Where would I rather be turned around at 3 o'clock in the morning?" he said. As Magary points out, Romney, though a Mormon, hails from Boston.
The Robertsons are outspoken about their Christian faith (each episode of "Duck Dynasty" ends with a prayer) and have also campaigned for Republicans, but their show, a hit in red and blue states alike, is largely nonpolitical and has so far carefully avoided issues such as race and gay rights.
The "Duck Dynasty" star also released his own statement to Fox411 on Wednesday, saying, in part, "I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other."