In an interview with Duck Dynasty stars Jep and Jessica Robertson on Thursday’s Good Morning America, correspondent Jesse Palmer suggested that family patriarch Phil Robertson might be unhappy about the couple recently adopting an African American baby: “I have to ask you, obviously your father got in some hot water back in 2013. He made some inflammatory racial remarks. What's his reaction been to this adoption and is he welcoming of the brand-new addition?”
Jep Robertson dismissed the notion: “He is. And you know, he's always said – you know, I guess this never got quoted – he says we're all part of one race, the human race. Says that quite often. So he loves him, man, he's loves him.”
In the interview with GQ magazine in 2013 that Palmer alluded to, Phil Robertson also declared homosexuality a sin. Sitting down with the reality TV star in 2014 for GMA, ABC’s Ryan Owens demanded: “Would you consider yourself a homophobe?”
Here is a transcript of the January 21 exchange:
8:34 AM ET
JESSE PALMER: We're joined now by Duck Dynasty stars Jep and Jessica Robertson and their five children, including their newest addition, baby son Gus, who we got to meet last night on their new show, Jep and Jessica: Growing the Dynasty. Now they’re here for their very first live interview since that big news, but first, let's take a look at the moment when baby Gus is welcomed into the family.
(...)
PALMER: Jep, I have to ask you, obviously your father got in some hot water back in 2013. He made some inflammatory racial remarks. What's his reaction been to this adoption and is he welcoming of the brand-new addition?
JEP ROBERTSON: He is. And you know, he's always said – you know, I guess this never got quoted – he says we're all part of one race, the human race. Says that quite often. So he loves him, man, he's loves him.
(...)
