Country Star Darius Rucker Wins Grammy, Sticks Up for 'Duck Dynasty' Family: 'They're Good People, Press Made That Controversy'
Country music star Darius Rucker has voiced his continued support for the Robertson family after winning a Grammy on Sunday.
Rucker, who included members of "Duck Dynasty" in his "Wagon Wheel" music video last year — a performance that won him Best Country Solo Performance at this year's Grammys, said that he had no regrets about including the Christian family in his film.
"No, they're good people, man. The press made that controversy, they're good people," Rucker told Radio.
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Rucker included Uncle Si, Jase, Willie, and his family in his music video, after his wife suggested it. Though he originally worried that he would have "no chance" working with the Robertson family "because they're so busy."
"Thank God she called my manager because the cast took this video to a whole new level. Big thanks to them. It was a good time for sure, and I can't wait to see how the video turns out," Rucker told 97.3 The Dawg last March.
Last month, family patriarch Phil Robertson was "suspended indefinitely" by A&E for his "coarse" remarks in an interview where he quoted scripture and stated that homosexuality is a sin. Those comments led to a wave of protests by gay activists demanding that A&E drop Duck Dynasty from the network. The network subsequently caved in to pressure and announced that Robertson was "indefinitely suspended."
However, that suspension sparked a new wave of protests, as hundreds of thousands rallied around the Duck Dynasty family, demanding that Phil Robertson be reinstated. Hundreds of thousands signed petitions online calling for A&E to back down, and many stated they would boycott the A&E network for its treatment of Robertson.
Nine days after he was initially suspended, the A&E network again caved in, and Robertson was reinstated.
Duck Dynasty's fifth season premiered earlier this month to 8.5 million viewers, a number similar to Season 4's finale episode, but not reaching the heights of the Season 4 premiere which broke records for a cable hosted reality TV show.
