Phil Robertson, ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Who Spread Homophobic Hate, Dead At 79

“Duck Dynasty” patriarch Phil Robertson has died at the age of 79.

Multiple family members announced the reality star’s death on social media on Sunday, five months after they made public that he’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

The cause of death is unknown.

President Donald Trump laughs with Willie Robertson, of the reality TV series "Duck Dynasty," and Phil Roberston, the family patriarch, right, at a campaign rally in 2019.

via Associated Press

The show that made Robertson’s name ran on A&E for 11 seasons from 2012 to 2017. It followed his family and their Louisiana hunting and recreation business, Duck Commander.

Robertson, though, generated an equal amount of headlines for his anti-gay rhetoric. He was briefly suspended from the show after giving an interview to GQ magazine in which he described “homosexual behavior” as a sin.

While endorsing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the 2016 presidential election, Robertson said same-sex marriage is typical of the “depravity” taking over America.

“Re-defining marriage and telling us that marriage is not between a man and a woman? C’mon, Iowa, it’s nonsense,” Robertson told a campaign rally for Cruz. “It is evil! It’s wicked! It’s sinful.”

Robertson backed Trump in the 2020 and 2024 elections and appeared on stage with the then-president in 2019.

Cruz, who cut a campaign ad with Robertson, led right-wing tributes to the personality, calling him “one of a kind,” an “American original” and “fearless in speaking the truth.”