Phil Robertson, the patriarch of A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” reality TV show, tackles so-called cancel culture in a new book — and says he speaks from experience.

“The cancel culture is alive and well,” Robertson told The Washington Times. “But those who put their faith in Jesus are ‘uncancelled’ because he will take care of any mistake you ever make.”

In December 2013, A&E “suspended indefinitely” the outback millionaire after a GQ interview quoted him paraphrasing St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians to say that “male prostitutes” and ” homosexual offenders” would not “inherit the kingdom of God”.

In a telephone interview last week from his home in rural Louisiana, Robertson said the GQ reporter who visited him in his living room hadn’t realized that asking “if homosexual behavior is a sin” would make him even more popular with many other Christians. .

“Since they tried to overrule me, we’ve converted thousands of people because I took a stand on what was right,” said Mr Robertson, 75. “He asked me about a particular sin; I just gave him a Bible verse off the top of my head and let him chew on it.

Although Mr Robertson believes the GQ reporter wanted to make him “look like a gay hater”, he said he learned a lesson from the experience which he wanted to share in his new book.

The new hardcover book “Uncanceled: Finding Meaning and Peace in a Culture of Accusations, Shame, and Condemnation” (Thomas Nelson, $26.99), delivers its message – about fighting cancellation culture through faith in Jesus Christ – with a generous sprinkling of Bible quotes.

Mr Robertson, who has built an estimated net worth of $15 million through his duck-calling business in West Monroe, said family discussions inspired him to write the book for other Christians who fear lose their livelihoods if they voice unpopular views in today’s polarized politics. weather.

“All we do is try to reach out to our neighbors and love them,” Robertson said. “I’m trying to get people to be merciful to one another in the current environment of this United States of America.”

He said the book took him two years to write, out of a basic desire to forgive the magazine’s reporter who he said tried to cancel it.

“It strengthens my faith when they persecute me,” Mr Robertson said. “The Bible is very clear: all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

The veteran duck hunter, who experienced a conversion to Jesus at 28, identifies himself as a ‘member of the kingdom’ and worships in private churches every Sunday.

“In my youth, I would get drunk, get high, get fucked, not necessarily in that order,” he said. “I cannot stress enough that the message of the book is to love God, to love your neighbor and to live under those two things. It’s not rocket science.

Since the end of “Duck Dynasty” on A&E in 2017, Mr. Robertson has been featured in “Duck Commander”, a reality series on the Outdoors Channel.

But the so-called “cancellation culture” has made him more preoccupied with spiritual matters in recent years, he said.

He said the country’s rising murder, suicide and crime rates inspired him to offer the book as a spiritual answer to those who try to silence others because they hold different beliefs.

“I would say just be nice to them, love them no matter what they do when they attack you, and keep moving forward,” Mr Robertson said. “How can they hurt me if my sins have been blotted out?”