he meant preentitlement and prewelfa prewelfare. he said he never saw the mistreatment of black person. blacks worked with the farmers. i hoed cotton with them. they're singing and happy. i never heard one of them say, i tell you what these dog gone white people. not a word. preentitlement and prewelfare, you say. what do you make of that? >> it's the same line i heard in the south over and over again. they're all happy. why you come around and mess around everybody is happy and singing? they're not to say anything to a white guy in a white community because they're going to get in trouble. again, it reflects his time. it's the old saw about all those black folks just happy on the other side of the tracks. i find that to be horrible. >> what's interesting kg is that ae is still having the duck dynasty marathon. clearly they're upset. they're not that upset. >> because ducks rate. it's about and cents. they did the bear minimum of what they thought was expected of them to be socially and politically responsible by saying phil is goin

wait a minute, preentitlement, prewelfare, you say were they happy? they were happy.one was singing the blues, but once black people got entitlement and welfare, wow, they got miserable. come on. this is unbelievable. >> piers, the outrageous thing here -- >> the best part of that quote is black people invented the blues literally as a response to the social misery, the social misery he suggested -- >> but here is what is more ridiculous. the media is not focussing on this. those comments are not the ones that got him booted off a and e. glad and hrc and these others immediately took acre sepceptan the other things. he was working with them. that's his prospective. i agree. i would never say that. the fact is that's not where the outcry is. that shows the extraordinary bias -- >> let me say this -- piers, piers, piers. >> okay, ben, ben ferguson, show me one example of gay marriage in the bible. >> today i want to say this is my problem with this. there is the bible and right and wrong and it's scripture is going to defend people in all sins but what you curks me the

preentitlement, prewelfare. you say were they happy? they were godly. they were happy.e was singing the blues. >> just for the record, a & e viewers who might not know this, it was not prewelfare. welfare was created by the federal government more than 10 years before phil robertson was bofrnlt here is a sample of the things that happened in the south when phil robertson was growing up there that he and everyone in the country bore witness to through the news media. he was 9 years old when emma till was tortured and murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman. phil robertson was 15 years old when the 16th street baptist church was bombed in birmingham, alabama. and phil robertson was 18 years old when civil rights workers, were murdered by the ku klux klan in mississippi. but phil robertson wants you to remember a happy-go-lucky life in the south. for black people in those days who sang while they picked cotton and never sang the blues. joining me now, msnbc's joy reid and back with us eugene robinson. eugene, you group in the south. lived through the years. and,

preentitlement, prewelfare. you may were they happy? they were godly. they were happy. recriminations have ricochetted. one possible casualty is a & e's crown jewel, duck dynasty itself. the family tonight threatening to call it quits. this is the patriarch of the most watched unscripted cable television show in history who preside over a $500 million empire, the bush-bearded sons of duck dynasty among the most highly recognized americans anywhere presenting at country music award, rubbing shoulders with the nation's top politicians at the white house correspondents dinner. they have their own christmas cd out this year. >> christmas cookies are a treat. >> duck the halls anyone a? >> when i hung out with them for a day this year, they preached the gospel of their love for all good things. guns, fried frogs legs, family.

preentitlement, prewelfare, you say, were they happy? they were godly. they were happy. no one was singing the blues." >> well, first of all -- >> actually that's why the blues were began. >> thank you, wilson. that's exactly right. nothing that he said is true, obviously that's a particularly narrative that he's articulating. i want to speak to the market deciding. you might think i'm cynical, don. the truth is as much as i think the companies may be advocates for lgbt rights, i sincerely hope they are, i think they're getting in front of this thing because they know sponsors are going to abandon them because they know consumers are going to abandon them. this might be a pre-emptive market decision. but ultimately they're doing what's best for them. >> i don't know if consumers are going to abandon them. they didn't abandon paula deen and don't abandon a lot of people. the corporations and the board rooms make the decisions. i don't think the public does. i think what he said is reprehensible and he's completely unaware of society and the way the world works now. but i'

preentitlement, prewelfare. you say, were they happy? they were godly. they were happy.nce those word were publish aid cascade of recriminations have ricochetted. one possible casualty is a&e's crown jewel "duke dynasty" itself. the family tonight threatening to call it quits. this is the patriarch of the most watched unscripted cable television show in history who preside over a $500 million empire, the bush-bearded sons of "duck dynasty" are among the most highly recognized americans anywhere. presenting at the country music awards. rubbing shoulders with the nation's top politicians at the white house correspondents dinner. they have their own christmas cd out this year. not bad. ♪ christmas cookies are a special treat ♪ >> reporter: "duck the halls" anyone? and when i hung out with them for a day this year, they preached the gospel of their love for all good things. guns, fried frogs legs, family. and god. >> amen. >> reporter: their shop is a shrine to many fans. but "duck dynasty's" massive success the past few years may explain why the comments published in "gq" t

preentitlement, prewelfare, you say were they happy, they were godly. they were happy. no one was singing the blues. the human rights campaign, the ncaap, and glad all abouted to those comments. but robertson has his defenders clinoiding former alaska governor sarah palin, texas senator ted cruz, and louisiana governor bobby ginnedle. the governor has some harsh words for a. & e. to highlight miley cyrus over the holiday. >> i think there's hypocrisy on the left when the left is tolerant of every viewpoint except those that disagree with them. so here you have a network saying we will allow miley cyrus to be on this special, and they are trying to silence phil for spiking up and saying his mind? >> does he have a point. for more on skype, he is a senior editor with the american conservative magazine, with me from cleveland ohio. and political science professor at hiram college. jason,ly start with you, did a & e do the right thing when they put him on this indefinite hiatus. >> well, they did the right thing for money, but not politically or morally. stereotype, it is n

one of them, one black person say i tell you what those dog gone white people, preentitlement, prewelfareu say were they happy? they were godly. they were happy. no one was singing the blues. this guy needs to go and watch "12 years a slave" doesn't he marc lamont hill. >> or have common sense. it's absurd blacks weren't complaining. it's ridiculous. this is clearly bigotry and doesn't have a sense of history and represents a mind set that isn't exclusive to him. there are many people in america who believe this but corporations have a right to say we don't want to stand next to this person. >> this has gone directly. ben ferguson, respond directly to what he said about african americans. surely, you must find that offensive. >> i don't think that's the reality most were around. i can't call him a liar if he never heard someone that didn't say it. let's be honest, this guy lives in the back woods and may believe this. >> i have no doubt. >> that doesn't mean he's going to lie to the american people -- >> pre-entitlement, pre -- let's read that again to you, ben. wait a minute, pre-entitle

heard one of them, one black person i tell you what, those dog gone white people preentitlement, prewelfare, they were happy, no one was singing the blues. pretty outrageous on any level. you as a high-profile gay black man, what is your reaction? >> piers, we just covered this last night. what is free speech? do we really have free speech. he has a right, phil robertson, to say when he wants to say. this is america, but this is what happens when you have true freedom of speech. you can say these things and suffer the consequences. look at paula deen when she made comments and used the "n" word and admitted to it. it's offensive to me. i believe in the right to free speech, but i think the marketplace should decide what should happen to this franchise, and it has been put on hold now. it's deeply offensive to many people, and it shows that a lack of awareness on the part of certain individuals in this country, when it comes to how other people live and the rights that other people should have. and i think here is what is important when we talk a lot about this, and i know people will be --

preentitlement, prewelfare rs they were god willy. they were happy.s singing the blues. >> you have to put it in the context of 1961, '62 the america where african-americans couldn't go to a white person 57bd say, i hate the jim crow laws. that means you're lynched, your family is in danger. >> why isn't that getting attention? >> i don't know. that's the story, i think. he made disparaging comments to lgbt folks and this is a hot water situation. that's why a&e suspended him. >> you tell me. i think a&e comes out looking the worst of any character. they knew -- if you look at his past staples posted online, on camera he said things like this before. they knew. they hired him. they gave him a platform. >> we don't want to watch -- it's reality. there is little reality in reality shows but a&e is trying to pull his reality out of his show. that's dumb. >> he's not a candidate for public office. we are holding him to a high standard. he was speaking off the cuff. >> the gq article talks about him driving around for an hour with a fly stuck in his beard.

preentitlement, prewelfare, you say were they happy? they were godly.s is my favorite, no one was singing the blues. and yet according to a congressional candidate, phil robertson is a lot like rosa parks. quote, parks, famous for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white person, provided inspiration for a movement of equality of white and black people. what parks did was courageous, what mr. robertson did was courageous too. the culture war of culture wars comes courtesy of steve stockton who is challenging john cornyn. a tweet, whose side are you own? senator cornyn, depicted at p a pajama boy or stockman? the hater of all things gay. and of course, now we get to the real news. all this is happening on the day a federal judge in ut ah a ban n marriage equality -- violated the 14th amendment and pi the end of the day, this gay couple was getting married and tweeting it for all to see. evidence of just how fast the marriage equality movement is evolving in this country. joining me now, josh barrow, also jordan carlos, stand-up comedian, play ed

preentitleme preentitlement, prewelfare. you say were they happy? they were godly. they were happy. no one was singing the blues. here's the thing. were they happy? the negro work songs that were the blues were talking about a yearning for a better life after death, not about being happy and peppy hanging out with the master. okay? we'll have more on that later. also, the tearful, sinful members of the lgbt community. he said, start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. beast yalty, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. that's a lot of sleeping. and then he paraphrases, don't be deceived. neither the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slander slanderers, they won't inherit the kingdom of god. comments like those are what got him suspended by a&e and then the rush to his defense. you heard sarah palin. senator ted cruz wrote, quote, the reason that so many americans love duck dynasty is because it represents the america usually ignored or mocked by liberal elites. phil expressed his perso

my eyes saw the mistreatment of any black person, not once he said and also said preentitlement, prewelfare you say were they happy? they were godly. they were happy. no one was singing the blues. the naacp wrote a letter expressing outrage but robertson has plenty of defenders. sarah palin called it a free speech issue on her facebook page and louisiana governor bobby ginld l call theed robertson family quote great citizens, a change.org petition has more than 19,000 signatures so far. >> women are like lab retrievers they have kwurks. you stay married to one, you learn to grow with the qwerks. a and e says he is on hiatus, it's not clear if he'll appear in a premiere episode in season five which is less than a month away. because phil robertson weighed in on sexual, religious themes, there is a lot to talk about. he writes the salvage love and charles blow and ross. dan, are you -- should this guy have been taken off the air by a and e? >> am i allowed to not have a an opinion? >> sure. >> that was a decision they made. most of the outrage is the comments about gay people. he's saying bec

pre-entitlement, prewelfare, were you saying they were happy? they were godly. they were happy.the blues. you might think his duck is cooked. but not so fast. on facebook, a fan page calling for the boycott of a&e until phil is reinstated, surged to over a million likes in just a day. and the supporters are big shots. sarah palin seen here with the "duck dynasty" guys, blasting his critics thursday as intolerants. and home state's governor, bobby jindal -- >> the left is tolerant of every viewpoint except for those that disagree with them. >> reporter: and the show's biggest sponsor, underarmour, is not cutting ties. when i visited, the family talked about the gospel of guns, family and faith. >> amen. >> reporter: the family that prays together, stays together on tv. >> amen. >> reporter: for "good morning america," matt gutman, abc news, new york. >> thanks to matt for that. >>> we're going to turn to the stunning reversal of a murder case in wisconsin, where a federal judge has thrown out the conviction of a husband found guilty of murdering his wife. days before her death, s

preentitlement, prewelfare, you say, were they happy? they were godly. they were happy.ing the blues. or his equating homosexuality to a sin on par with bestiality and any manner of, quote, adulters, idolaters, male prostitutes, greedy, drunkards slanderers and swindlers. a reality stars saying or doing off-the-wall things shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but an elected official jumping in and high fiving him? that is political dynamite. this week i'm sending a letter to a guy who just blew himself to smithereens. dear governor bobby jindal, it's me, joy. mind if i call you bobby? we've kor responded with you so much here on the mhp show i feel like we could be familiar. we've become pretty well aquainted so i'll level with you. you've changed. weren't you the guy who after the gop shellacking in the 2012 election issued this mandate to your party going forward? >> we've got to stop being the stupid party. there's no secret we had a number of republicans that damaged the brand this year with offensive and bizarre comments. i'm here to say we've had enough of that. >

in his words, preentitlement, prewelfare. same quote. where we lived was all farmers. blacks worked for the farmers. i hoed cotton with them. i'm with the blacks because we're white trash. we're going across the field. they're singing and happy. i never heard one of them, one black person say, i tell you what those doggone white people, not a word. >> you can't watch the show without knowing he is deeply evangelical christian and older american with very traditional views expressed in southern ways that some people are going to find offense sieve. why the network seems surprised to find themselves in this predictment is beyond me. >> reporter: so here's where this stand right now. "duck dynasty" is on hiatus until january 15th. nine out of the first 10 episodes are already in the can, suggesting they don't need phil in front of the camera until march. that's four months away. by then, jenna, many believe this is going to be worked out. back to you. jenna: we'll see. william, thank you. gregg: well as william just mentioned phil robertson's comments about race perhaps e

"preentitlement, prewelfare, you say, were they happy?, they were happy, no one was singing the blues." but robertson has plenty of defenders. sarah palin who spent time with the robertsons calling it a free speech issue on her facebook page. and louisiana governor, bobby jindal issued a statement calling the robertson family, "great citizens." a petition to bring her back to the show has more than 19,000 signatures so far. >> you stay married to one for 40 45, 50 years, you learn to go with the quirks. >> reporter: though a&e says he's in hiatus not clear if he'll be in the premiere episode of season five. anderson cooper, cnn, new york. >> the robertson family called into question the show's future. in a statement the family said, we're disappointed that phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is constitutionally protected right. we have had a successful working relationship with a&e but as a family we can't imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm." not the only popular tv show facing lega