'Duck Dynasty' Uproar Intensifies, Along With Confusion About the Show

What's This?

By Brian Anthony Hernandez2013-12-23 19:09:19 UTC

Duck Dynasty? Duck Dynasty? Duck Dynasty? Ask three times, confused social media users, and then maybe Beetlejuice or someone just as mysterious will tell you everything you've been wondering about A&E's most popular-yet-puzzling show.

Last week, "What is Duck Dynasty?" became the new "What is twerking?" after the bearded patriarch of the show, which stars the camouflage-clothed Robertson family of Louisiana, attracted swift criticism for homophobic comments he made in a GQ profile. Phil Robertson told the magazine's Drew Magary:

“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.”

But despite the following furious — and highly publicized — debate over the 67-year-old's opinion and the uproar sparked by A&E's suspension of the star on Wednesday, it's a wonder so many people still have no clue what the show is or why it's successful.

In its fourth season, Duck Dynasty continues to detail the Robertsons' backwoods lives, propelled by the family's mom-and-pop shop that sells handcrafted duck calls and decoys. Viewers tune in each week for the show's uniquely southern humor and the lively characters operating the family's small business, Duck Commander.

As if issuing its own duck call to audiences, A&E started the fourth season with a ratings bang, attracting 11.8 million viewers to the premiere in August. That's the highest pull ever on cable from a nonfiction series, and it's more viewers than AMC's smash hit Breaking Bad had for its series finale in September (10.3 million). The Duck Dynasty season finale in October roped in 8.4 million viewers.

In between those episodes, veteran journalist Barbara Walters named the Duck Dynasty cast as an honorees in her annual list of the 10 most fascinating people, though Phil Robertson reportedly skipped Walters' interview to go duck hunting.

The show has found success in the form of online buzz, too. Duck Dynasty was the most-mentioned show on Facebook in 2012, and the book it spawned (Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander, authored by Robertson) was the most-mentioned book in 2013, a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable. The show's Facebook page also has 7.3 million fans — slightly more than the page for Breaking Bad.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, a quick search for "What is Duck Dynasty?" yields a steady stream of, as you might guess, people scratching their heads about what the show is and why it would cause an uproar.

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It's not unusual for people who don't watch certain popular shows to have at least some inkling as to what those shows are about due to word of mouth, but Duck Dynasty has an air of mystery about it for many. Offline, the sentiment is similar, with people discussing the media uproar with tinges of confusion about the show's overall premise.

This season, the Twitter buzz has been relatively high during the show's telecasts — but exceedingly when compared to other popular shows in the social TV space.

The Duck Dynasty Christmas special on Dec. 11, for example, generated 66,900 tweets written by 41,700 people, a Nielsen SocialGuide spokesperson told Mashable. Roughly 1.5 million people saw those tweets. Other shows, like ABC's Scandal, however, had better social outings that week, according to Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings:

In an era when viewers, networks and advertisers are weighing the correlation between TV ratings and social buzz, it's interesting that Duck Dynasty did not "break the Internet," so to speak, despite relatively good viewership numbers this season.

But the social chatter sparked by Robertson's homophobic comments appears to have reached that Internet-breaking intensity over the past week, as each new development in the controversy intensifies the initial uproar.

First came A&E's suspension of Robertson, followed by backlash from his supporters, who created a Facebook page — "Boycott A&E Until Phil Robertson Is Put Back On Duck Dynasty" — that has nearly 1.8 million Likes. A Change.org petition also launched, urging A&E to bring Robertson back. The petition has garnered more than 115,000 signatures.

A&E, for its part, has declined to comment to Mashable regarding the show's social prowess or the uproar over its star.

In response to the controversy, Cracker Barrel removed Duck Dynasty items from its restaurants, but immediately reversed its decision after a barrage of complaints from customers. The company explained the reversal in a candid letter on Sunday:

"When we made the decision to remove and evaluate certain Duck Dynasty items, we offended many of our loyal customers. Our intent was to avoid offending, but that’s just what we’ve done. You told us we made a mistake. And, you weren’t shy about it. You wrote, you called and you took to social media to express your thoughts and feelings. You flat out told us we were wrong. We listened. Today, we are putting all our Duck Dynasty products back in our stores. And, we apologize for offending you. We respect all individuals right to express their beliefs. We certainly did not mean to have anyone think different. We sincerely hope you will continue to be part of our Cracker Barrel family."

The Robertsons posted a statement on their website standing by Phil, saying they would continue the show without him (Though the family is likely bound to keep participating due to contractual agreements with A&E).

"We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E's decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil’s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Phil would never incite or encourage hate. We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right. We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but, as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty. Again, thank you for your continued support of our family."

The family's business, Duck Commander, is the centerpiece of Duck Dynasty, with several family members and neighbors having a major hand in operating the company. Robertson, the company founder, addressed the controversy Sunday. "I will not give or back off from my path," the Daily Mail reports he said during a speech. "I love all men and women. I am a lover of humanity, not a hater."

For now, the future of Duck Dynasty remains a mystery with many unanswered questions: For how long will Robertson remain suspended? Will the show continue without him, if at all? In the wake of the backlash, how difficult will it be for A&E recover? And will people finally understand what, exactly, is the concept of the show?

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