In response to intense pressure from GLAAD, the A&E network announced on Wednesday, December 21, that Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson would be placed on indefinite "hiatus" due to comments he made in an interview with GQ. A public statement read:

We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty. His personal views in no way reflect those of A+E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.

After having their phone lines bombarded by thousands of angry Duck Dynasty viewers, a Facebook petition that accumulated over 1-million "likes" by Christmas, and the Robertson family's willingness to quit the show rather than continue without their patriarch, A&E finally caved to the public's demands and invited back Papa Phil.

But after a week-and-a-half of controversy, a gripping question goes unanswered: Was there a point?

A&E put Phil Robertson on indefinite hiatus when, in fact, the show had already been on hiatus. Furthermore, most of the 10 episodes for Season 5 had already been filmed, and unless A&E secretly planned to re-film them, chances are Phil Robertson would have appeared in them anyway. Given that A&E aired a Duck Dynasty marathon a few days after his suspension, that's highly unlikely.

A&E suspending Phil Robertson amounts to little more than phony grandstanding to appease the thuggish culture of intimidation at GLAAD, who immediately demanded Phil Robertson's removal once the GQ article went public. A&E did not suspend Phil Robertson to make-good with their "champions" in the LGBT community -- they would have never done business with him if that were the case -- A&E suspended Phil Robertson solely out of political pressure.

That they did so at a time when it would cost them almost nothing evidences the futility of the entire excercise.