I could care less what he said. My only concern is the (alleged) Freedom of Speech complaints. First, if his freedom to speak his mind had been infringed in any way, this wouldn't have come up because we wouldn't know about it. But he said it, and there is no distortion of his words.

Then we have A&E's suspending him. It is A&E's show and A&E's network, they absolutely have a right to set the rules for his employment, subject to applicable state and Federal law. I don't have a clue what his contract with A&E says, but it is pretty standard that when you are representing a company in anyway you are not allowed to disparage or show the company in a bad light. My old company had a policy on electronics/computer situations that were printed in a 21 page booklet. We had to sign a document stating that we were issued the booklet and had read and understood the policies in the booklet. It was very clear on what we could and could not do. To this day my FB account still doesn't list my (former) employer, in order to stay clear of any charges such as those he was accused of. Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but better safe than sorry.

Now, as I say, I don't know what his contract says, but I'm willing to bet that his contract was far more explicit in what he was allowed to say and do as an employee of A&E. Remember that, he and his family do not own Duck Dynasty, A&E does. They want to present the show in a certain way. As an employee he is contractually bound to follow their rules. If he doesn't like it he always has the option of terminating his relationship with A&E, subject to clauses in a contract he signed of his own free will.

In spite of all the Internet noise, I've never seen a statement from A&E that he is no longer their employee, they have said he has been suspended from appearing in the show. That doesn't effectively mean anything as the upcoming season is "in the can" so to speak, so he will still be seen in the shows. Then in six months or so they can quietly reinstate him and the show will go on.

So the real problem in all this is the Freedom of Speech violation. There is absolutely no guarantee that there will not consequences for his actions. If there were no consequences then you can throw out the slander and libel laws, and say anything you want about anybody. Tell the internet that Politician X sold a daughter into prostitution, hey, there is no repercussion allowed and the person saying it doesn't have to prove anything.

The Dixie Chicks who-rah really had the right-wingers up in arms, records were burned, boycotts started, and lots of accusations were thrown about. But the one thing the right-wing wanted was to legally stop them from ever recording or performing again. They didn't get it. Prior restraint is a form of censorship, which is forbidden by the First amendment. Now we have the situation in reverse. Just like the Dixie Chicks, they can't be stopped from expressing themselves, which both did. And just like the Dixie Chicks, there have been repercussions. The Dixie Chicks lost some sales and some tour dates, but they are still recording and playing.

Whas-his-name, Bill (? I have never watched the show so I don't know who is who) has "payed" a lot less. He was suspended, which effectively changes nothing, odds are he'll never miss a day of filming. No restrictions on his Freedom of Speech other than what his contract imposes. And I'm sure that contract got looked over very carefully before he ever put pen to paper. Like my employment with XYZ, it's just a part of life in the social internet world.

Now, I don't like what he said, and would likely join a protest against him. Might even support a movement to get him fired. That's my Freedom of Speech. I have the same rights to express myself as anybody else in the U.S. But don't make this molehill into a mountain. He got his Freedom of Speech. Others don't like what he said, and they are using their Freedom of Speech to say so. Freedom of Speech is a right in the U.S. But with rights come responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is you have to take ownership of your words. You don't get a free pass from your responsibilities under the First Amendment.