Duck Dynasty Robertson family members ready ‘to move on’

Willie and Korie Robertson, two of the stars of A&E’s Duck Dynasty show appeared on Fox News’ New Year’s Eve special, All American New Year, and appeared ready to forgive and forget the show’s recent controversy as the clock ticked towards 2014.

“We’re just glad to be back to work,” Willie Robertson told Fox News hosts Bill Hemmer and Elisabeth Hasselbeck during an interview conducted via satellite from Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

“A&E and us are fine,” he continued. “The Robertsons, we’re looking forward to getting back to making some funny shows. And it’s a new year, so we are ready to break in a new year and start it all over again.”

For anyone in a media blackout zone over the holidays, A&E’s top-rated reality series became the focal point of a major controversy when Robertson family patriarch Phil Robertson was suspended from the series after a magazine published comments he made criticising gay marriage and praising the pre-civil rights South.

Fans of the series, which drew 11.77 million viewers for its most recent season premiere, making it the highest-rated cable non-fiction series ever, were outraged and lobbied A&E to reverse its decision. A&E eventually reinstated the elder Robertson on Friday after a nine-day suspension, which means he didn’t miss any filming for the series.

“We are ready to move on,” Willie Robertson, one of Phil’s sons, said. “I think we all learned a lot and we are just ready to move on and the family is happy and we are ready to go.”

Following Phil Robertson’s suspension, members of the Robertson family released a statement claiming they didn’t know how to continue with the show without Phil. Many people speculated that the Robertsons could take their reality show act to another channel. But now that A&E has lifted Phil’s suspension, it appears everything is OK between the two camps.

“The best thing about the show is that we get to do it together as a family. The fact that we get to continue to do that, we’re all happy, happy, happy,” Korie added.

When asked what Phil Roberston was doing at that moment, Willie had to guess: He was either asleep or watching Fox News.