(Above: Duck Dynasty stars discuss the behind-the-scenes editing of their hit show)
“In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Those words may seem pretty innocuous to folks here in Alabama, but for the Hollywood producers and editors of A&E’s hit reality show Duck Dynasty, that’s earth shattering stuff.
In a recent interview, Phil Robertson, one of the stars of the show, discussed his disagreement with how the show’s editors were cutting out prayers in an effort to not offend anyone.
“Why would you cut out ‘in Jesus name?’” Robertson said he asked the crew. “They said, ‘well the editors are probably doing that because they don’t want to offend some of the muslims.’”
“It’s 2012 A.D. — Anno Domini — the year of our Lord,” Robertson recalled telling the editors. “You Hollywood cats, you’re counting time by Jesus, just like I am… I would think out of all the people who walked planet Earth, if we’ve all decided in America here to count time by just one of them, Jesus of Galillee… I don’t think it’d hurt to throw his name in there from time to time. Your calendar’s based on him! They were like, ‘we never thought about that.’ I said, ‘duh.’”
Robertson also said the show’s editors initially added unnecessary bleeps into the program to give the audience the impression that the Robertsons were cursing.
“If we are not using profanity, why make it look like we are using profanity? What is the point?” Robertson asked rhetorically. “If you want that, you can get all of that you want. Just turn the station. There’s plenty of that”
It looks like the Robertson crew’s refusal to shy away from their beliefs is paying off.
Duck Dynasty‘s fourth season premiere became the the most-watched non-fiction television show in history, reaching almost 12 million viewers.
At a time when it’s ok for Miley Cyrus to make out with a hammer in a music video, but anathema for Christians to publicly discuss their faith, Duck Dynasty’s massive ratings prove that Americans will still flock to quality, wholesome entertainment.
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