The Baptist minister says the 'Duck Dynasty' star's 'statements were uttered freely and openly without cover of the law, within a context of what he seemed to believe was 'white privilege.' '
- Dec 25, 2013
AceShowbiz - Jesse Jackson Sr. has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Phil Robertson's anti-gay comments. In a press release issued on Tuesday, December 24, the American civil rights activist blasted the "Duck Dynasty" star, claiming he made the statements with the notion that it was "white privilege."
"At least the bus driver, who ordered Rosa Parks to surrender her seat to a white person, was following state law," Jackson said, comparing Robertson's comments to comments made by the driver of Rosa Parks' bus. "Robertson's statements were uttered freely and openly without cover of the law, within a context of what he seemed to believe was 'white privilege.' "
Jackson's human rights group, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, also demands a meeting within 72 hours with A&E and Cracker Barrel regarding their treatment of Robertson. The network has put Robertson under hiatus from filming "Duck Dynasty" while the restaurant chain had pulled "Duck Dynasty"-themed products from its stores only to put them back a few days later after being criticized by Robertson's supporters.
Robertson has been under fire for saying in an interview with GQ, "Everything is blurred on what's right and what's wrong... Sin becomes fine. 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."
While insisting, "I love all men and women. I am a lover of humanity, not a hater," he refused to retract his comments. "I will not give or back off from my path, because you conquered death, Father, so we are not worried about all the repercussions," the Robertsons' patriach allegedly said in a prayer during a Bible study class.
