Sideshow: 'Duck' dynast given time-out for anti-gay remarks

Beloved Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson, 67, is in trouble with cabler A&E after calling homosexuality a sin in a GQ interview. Asked to define sinful behavior, he said, "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there."

Following a severe thumping by critics, including GLAAD, A&E has decided to give Phil a time-out: He'll be off the show for an indefinite period.

"We are extremely disappointed," A&E tells USA Today. Phil's comments, the cabler says, "are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series ."

Not so sure: The Robertson family as a whole are quite proud of their Christian family values. Does that mean Phil's relations also would call being gay sinful? We can't say.

Phil on Thursday released a statement. He said he was a hedonist before he "accepted Jesus as my Savior," and that his mission today is to spread the Bible's message, "and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together." But, added Phil, "I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. . . . We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other."

British royal sister Pippa Middleton has accepted bf Nico Jackson's marriage proposal, says Us Weekly. He popped the question at the exclusive Indian resort Oberoi Amarvilas, near the Taj Mahal. . . . Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) will coproduce a new version of Agatha Christie's classic 1934 Hercule Poirot murder mystery, Murder on the Orient Express. Sidney Lumet filmed the story in 1974 with Albert Finney as Poirot. . . . Kris Jenner, the Rasputin of the Kardashian Kabal, likens her girl Khloé's decision to dump hub Lamar Odom to going to the spa for a mud bath and a facial. "It's also a very interesting time for her because it's very cleansing," Kris tells People. "She's also showed this side of her that I didn't know she had. . . . I never dreamed that she had this kind of strength."

215-854-2736