We Heart: A&E CEO Nancy Dubuc!

We love it when powerful women stand up for what’s right, and A&E Networks president and CEO Nancy Dubuc did just that when she decided to suspend Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson this week after he made racist and homophobic comments in an interview with GQ Magazineeven comparing homosexuality to bestiality.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make, with Duck Dynasty currently the highest-rated reality TV show on air, but Dubuc and A&E Networks  stood by LGBT people everywhere, despite backlash from the popular show’s millions of followers and potential financial loss. Now, the rest of the Duck Dynasty cast is questioning whether they will continue to do the show without Robertson.

Yet another reason why A&E made the right decision is Phil Robertson’s extreme anti-abortion position that only serves to fuel the continued attempts to restrict women’s rights in this country. Although they haven’t received as much media attention, Robertson’s anti-choice views became public recently when his 2010 anti-abortion rant at a church in Virginia went viral. Said Robertson,

And we debate whether some woman has the right to tear you out of there a piece at a time? Come on! You have a god-given right to live, and of all places, inside your mother?

A&E has received an outpouring of criticism about the decision, especially after talk show host Sean Hannity gave out the numbers of Dubuc and A&E chairwoman Abbe Raven on the air Thursday. But we want to  thank you, Nancy Dubuc and A&E, for taking a stand against hatred and bigotry. Please join us in sending our support and urging A&E to stand by their decision. You can email the company at aefeedback@aenetworks.com, or reach out by tweeting @AETV and liking them on Facebook.

Photo of Nancy Dubuc courtesy of Flickr user mipmarkets via Creative Commons

About

Melissa McGlensey recently graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in English and Spanish with a minor in creative writing; she is currently interning at Ms. Read more from her at OhHeyMeliss.com.