A&E has caved and Phil Robertson will remain on Duck Dynasty:

As a global media content company, A+E Networks’ core values are centered around creativity, inclusion and mutual respect. We believe it is a privilege for our brands to be invited into people’s home and we operate with a strong sense of integrity and deep commitment to these principals.

That is why we reacted so quickly and strongly to a recent interview with Phil Robertson. While Phil’s comments made in the interview reflect his personal views based on his own beliefs, and his own personal journey, he and his family have publicly stated they regret the “coarse language” he used and the mis-interpretation of his core beliefs based only on the article. He also made it clear he would “never incite or encourage hate.” We at A+E Networks expressed our disappointment with his statements in the article, and reiterate that they are not views we hold.

But Duck Dynasty is not a show about one man’s views. It resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family… a family that America has come to love. As you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. These are three values that we at A+E Networks also feel strongly about.

So after discussions with the Robertson family, as well as consulting with numerous advocacy groups, A&E has decided to resume filming Duck Dynasty later this spring with the entire Robertson family.

We will also use this moment to launch a national public service campaign (PSA) promoting unity, tolerance and acceptance among all people, a message that supports our core values as a company, and the values found in Duck Dynasty. These PSAs will air across our entire portfolio.

Go here to read the rest. If I may translate the above from the corporatese into English:

“We sort of miscalculated here. Duck Dynasty is our biggest cash cow, but like most people in the entertainment industry we always genuflect to the gay activists. If we don’t, they will make life a living hell for us, especially among our money men. We expected Phil to make a craven apology and after a few months re-education we could bring him back. Instead the dumb hick redneck stood up to us! That surprised us, but we had two worse shocks in store. First, his family backed him to the hilt and said they would walk. Rednecks really believe in family and don’t understand that family is only for photo-ops. Second, the reaction of the country. Fly over country has always been a mystery to us, but we thought they were onboard now with the gay agenda. What a shock, they were backing Phil, and not the gays! Even people who didn’t agree with Phil on homosexuality thought he had a right to say what he said, and they are getting pretty tired of being pushed around by the gay activists. Who knew! So we had the prospect of sticking to our guns, and losing Duck Dynasty, or eating crow. So naturally, we ate crow and caved. We are talking after all about a property with merchandising that is worth half a billion dollars. Oh we tried to negotiate a face saving device with the Robertsons, but they wouldn’t budge. So we are doing a complete cave and putting as many pretty words on it we can. It isn’t as if we believe in anything but cash anyway. The funny thing about those rednecks and their fans, apparently they do take that God talk seriously. Unbelievable.”