Duck Dynasty , which despite its recent ratings slide remains the leading “reality TV” show on cable, is apparently about as “real” as professional wrestling. While the question of whether Duck Dynasty is fake or if the Robertson clan’s outrageous personalities are all an act for the cameras has been raised before. This time, the information that the show is basically staged comes straight from one of its own cast members.
Sadie Robertson, 17-year-old daughter of Duck Dynasty star and Duck Commander CEO Willie Robertson, is currently gaining a new level of fame as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars . And she has used her new platform to speak directly to her fans through a series of YouTube videos together with her fellow dancer and YouTube star Bethany Mota .
In one recent Badie Show video, Sadie Robertson accidentally leaked some unusually honest backstage information that, one imagines, the producers of Duck Dynasty — not to mention the rest of the Robertson family — would rather not have discussed in public.
Basically, Sadie admitted that Duck Dynasty is faked.
When the subject has come up before, other Duck Dynasty stars have scoffed at the idea that the show is scripted or somehow phony.
“Think about it,” controversial Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson said to The Today Show interviewer Matt Lauer last year. “Someone out of L.A. is fixing to put words into our mouth? Gimme a break.”
Phil’s brother Si Robertson, the zany but lovable “Uncle Si” on Duck Dynasty, also brushed off the notion that the Robertson’s would consent to faking a show about their lives — though he said that the show’s producers attempt to script scenarios for the Robertsons to act out.
Jase Roberston told Lauer in that interview, “they come up with ideas and we just get to be ourselves in the situation.”
But in the Badie Show YouTube video, which you can watch above, Sadie Robertson went into greater detail — commenting on how being on the live broadcast of Dancing With The Stars frightens her.
“That freaks me out because I’m on Duck Dynasty . It’s, like, recorded way, like, 3 months before it shows,” Sadie said. “We get to record it like 10 different times if we mess up. This is like, you get one shot. If you mess up, 15 million people see it.”
Sadie Robertson’s admissions were the first time that a cast member has confessed that the scenes viewers see on Duck Dynasty are not as spontaneous or “real” as they are purported to be.
When Season 7 of Duck Dynasty premieres on the A&E network November 19, the ratings could indicate whether Sadie Robertson’s candid admissions that Duck Dynasty is at least partly fake affects the already-struggling ratings.
