40 Duck Dynasty Secrets That Uncle Si Would Rather Keep Under His Cap

While Phil Robertson’s other half Miss Kay is renowned for her loyalty, she was nearly pushed to her limits. Her husband’s alcohol-fueled behavior was once so bad that she seriously thought about leaving him for good. Thankfully, Phil managed to get his act together, and now the pair have been married for more than half a century, but not without a few hiccups.

For instance, Phil no doubt got the shock of his life in 2020 when he discovered he had a 45-year-old daughter! A woman named Phyliss had contacted the reality star’s sons claiming to be their half-sister from an extramarital affair. Then, after being given this stunning news, Phil took a DNA test – and it proved Phyliss was telling the truth. The star later told Page Six, “It’s a pretty cool explanation of redemption, reconciliation [and] love.”

Willie Robertson once claimed that Duck Dynasty’s success had only tightened the family’s bond. The truth, though? That was apparently a little bit different. A report claimed that Miss Kay and Phil’s son was actually causing trouble with his loved ones after angling for even more fame. And there was allegedly no telling him, either. An insider explained to In Touch Weekly, “When the family is resistant to Willie’s ideas, he says they don’t see the big picture.”

Let’s just say that Phil, um, isn’t the most enlightened member of the Robertson family. Take his opinions on sexually transmitted diseases, for example. At the 2015 CPAC, the reality star argued that STDs were a punishment for the promiscuous. And later that same year, he told the Family Research Council, “Either it’s the wildest coincidence ever that horrible diseases follow immoral conduct, or it’s God saying, ‘There’s a penalty for that kind of conduct.’ I’m leaning towards [the idea that] there’s a penalty for it.”

The busiest member of the Robertson family? That’s probably Sadie. She not only serves as host of the podcast WHOA That’s Good, but she also has her very own lifestyle brand called Live Original. Oh, and she’s one of many high-profile names to have promoted Faithful, a faith-based app.

With an unkempt beard that could make the members of ZZ Top green with envy, Jase doesn’t look like your average Trump International Hotel customer. That’s probably why he was thrown out of the New York establishment by a staff member in 2013. But there was a happy ending. People claims that after getting wind of the snub, the Trumps offered Jase an apology. The Duck Dynasty star even became pals with Donald Trump Jr.

Although Uncle Si is undoubtedly one of the most popular members of the Robertson family, the unlikely reality star took some time coming out of his shell. Yep, at first, he was apparently a bit wary of being filmed all the time. And we don’t blame him, but that causes a few problems when making a TV show. Duck Dynasty’s producers had to make sure they hid the cameras, then, to get Si at his most authentic.

Back in 2013, Duck Dynasty was one of the most popular shows in the U.S. among young and middle-aged adults. And that may have come as a surprise to one of the members of the Robertson family. Apparently, Jase had been secretly skeptical that viewers would be interested in his family’s rough and ready exploits. Luckily for the rest of the clan, though, he was very, very wrong!

Jess Robertson admitted in her 2015 memoir that she used to be something of a wild child. Referring to the time after her first marriage ended, she wrote, “I reached out to the friends I went to high school with, and they were heavily into the college scene and partying and drinking and sleeping around. So, I started hanging out with them, and I fell right into that lifestyle too. I fell flat on my face before searching for Jesus.”

Nearly every member of the Robertson family went on to further their education after high school. Uncle Si, though? He ended up leaving Louisiana Tech prematurely – probably because he was just having too much fun partying. At least he appeared to have no regrets, as he wrote in his memoir, “You put up with four or five years of crap just for someone to hand you a piece of paper that says you have some sense. Hey, news flash for all you people: I got sense without the paper!”

You may be surprised to learn that Jase didn’t touch a drop of alcohol until his 30th birthday. But he had good reason. Talking to Fox411, he explained that his father’s drunken behavior had previously put him off the stuff. “It was really a decision I made from monitoring my dad,” Jase said. “I thought, ‘Whatever they’re doing, I’m just not going to do that.”

Phil has always been more than happy to share his extremely conservative political views. He may have been pleased as punch, then, when he was invited to take part in a documentary made by Steve Bannon – a former member of the Trump administration and editor of Breitbart. Torchbearer sees Phil deliver a feature-length speech about the need for the United States to be a Judeo-Christian republic.

Just as Ozzy and Sharon’s daughter Aimee decided against taking part in The Osbournes, one of the Robertson family also refused to have their life laid bare on camera. Yes, Miss Kay and Phil have another son you may not know about. And although his name is mentioned from time to time, Alan Robertson doesn’t actually show up in Duck Dynasty.

Now, you’ll either find this next fact sweet or a little unsettling. Basically, Uncle Si didn’t give in when wife Christine turned down his first proposal – and his third, and his 52nd... Supposedly, the ex-duck call maker asked for Christine’s hand in marriage no fewer than 70 times before she eventually gave in!

What follows a hit TV show?> Tie-ins! And Duck Dynasty was no different. The Robertsons even brought out their own brand of wine – although this decision didn’t go down well with everyone. The Family Ministries canceled a scheduled booking, for instance. Others believed it was a misjudged business decision given Phil’s drunken past, and they could well have been right.

Speaking to Sports Spectrum TV in 2015, Phil claimed that the Duck Dynasty producers had cut certain prayers from the show. He subsequently alleged that they didn’t want to “offend some of the Muslims or something.” Yet his son Alan later told TheBlaze website that no faith-based censorship had ever happened.

Phil Robertson in politics? Yes, really! While he didn’t run for office himself, he did throw his weight behind Vance McAllister’s bid to become a Louisiana congressman. The duck hunter even argued that McCallister’s inexperience was actually a plus point. And voters appeared to agree, as the Republican candidate was eventually elected. But things between the pair eventually soured, when McCallister was caught up in a scandal over an extra-marital affair.

Willie waded in on the subject of football players taking the knee during a 2021 episode of At Home with the Robertsons. And while the reality star understands the reasons behind the gesture, he still feels it’s a little unpatriotic. Willie said on the Facebook Watch show, “It’s when they got to the flag, of choosing that exact time to make your protest, I just felt like the flag should really bring us together… yeah, that just feels a little un-American.”

In 2020 Willie’s home became the target of a drive-by shooting. That had to be scary, but at least the cops picked up a suspect. Daniel Dean King – who reportedly admitted that he was the man responsible – was ultimately charged with the offense, too. But there’s a weird twist to this tale. King then decided to sue Willie as well as his son John and daughter-in-law Mary Kate. He argued that the trio had made statements that were “calculated, false and ultimately defamatory.” King also claimed that he’d been wrongfully arrested.

Willie and Korie had very different views when it came to the 2016 presidential election. While the man of the house strongly advocated for Trump, his wife admitted that she had prayed for a different result at the ballot box. Korie explained to ABC News, “I would be reading Willie [Trump’s] tweets every night and be like, ‘Okay, here’s what he said tonight.’ It was just killing me.”

Before he became famous, Phil led a drink-fueled and troubled life. In fact, he once even ended up throwing his wife and kids out of their trailer. As a result, his wife Miss Kay turned to Christianity and would pray for his salvation. Now he’s a Christian, too, and they both credit Jesus for saving their marriage.

Plenty of people wanted to meet the Robertson family during the height of their fame. But in April 2013 they disappointed a lot of their devoted viewers by walking out of an event before a planned signing. An unnamed source told the website Radar Online, “Fans were really angry.” No kidding.

In 2013 Phil Robertson made some comments about black people that were insensitive – to say the very least. But three years later the reality star gained a black grandson when his son and daughter-in-law Jep and Jessica Robertson adopted a fifth child. Jep told TV show Good Morning America, “He loves him.”

Turns out that one of Duck Dynasty’s most popular figures – Uncle Si – wasn’t always so playful and cheerful. In fact, in his 2013 book Si-cology, Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle, the TV personality revealed that while serving in Vietnam he became so drunk that he nearly killed civilians – including a child.

Lisa Robertson and her husband Al published a book in 2015 called A New Season: A Robertson Family Love Story of Brokenness and Redemption. And in it, the reality star confessed that she’d had an abortion at the age of 17. The whole Robertson family are very anti-abortion, but Lisa wanted to help others “find healing and comfort from Jesus in it.”

Phil actually ran a bar before finding religion. But when his landlords tried to raise his rent, he beat them to a pulp and ran off to the woods until the heat died down! Miss Kay detailed the incident in her 2014 book; she also described her husband as being “mean and threatening” during his younger days.

In a 2013 interview with Sports Spectrum TV, Phil claimed that sometimes the Duck Dynasty showmakers would make out that there had been swearing when, in fact, there hadn't been any at all. He said, “They inserted fake bleeps… like somebody had used profanity. But no one had used profanity.”

Prior to Duck Dynasty there was the YouTube series Duck Men. This saw Phil and his family kill ducks in a controversial manner by, basically, crunching the birds’ heads with their teeth. The Robertson family head told guide Grand View Outdoors in 2010, “It’s a very quick way to put a duck out of its misery.”

This comes from straight out of Phil’s mouth. That’s right, while being interviewed for Men’s Journal magazine in 2013, the reality star admitted, “There’s not a lot of personal hygiene going on.” So, no deodorant, hair combing, flossing and very little showering, then – at least among the men, anyway.

Phil angered a lot of people when he revealed himself as a homophobe in a 2013 GQ interview. The reality star said he believed that gay people were “not logical” and wouldn’t “inherit the kingdom of God.” This caused enough outrage to see Phil suspended from the show… albeit for just nine days.

It's not only those in front of the Duck Dynasty cameras who are capable of causing controversy. Back in December 2016 producers Scott and Deidre Gurney were handed a fraud and breach of contract lawsuit by ITV America. The case was brought on the grounds of “unauthorized distributions” and “numerous misrepresentations.”

Like his father Phil, Jep has also experienced his fair share of problems with addiction. The reality star’s particular vices were pornography and substance abuse. And in his book the star claimed that he even once tried a “wet daddy” – a joint soaked in formaldehyde. Apparently, these problems very nearly put an end to Jep’s marriage before he found God.

Unsurprisingly for a conservative Christian, Phil doesn’t like people who have no religious faith. And in 2015 he caused controversy once again by explaining his belief in God via a bizarre imaginary scenario. It involved a hypothetical atheist’s wife and children being murdered. Phil even presented it at a prayer breakfast, no less.

The beards are perhaps the most recognizable aspect of Duck Dynasty, so the Robertson men are actually required to keep them. Talking to morning news TV show Good Day L.A., the occasionally beardless Alan explained of his family that “their beards are in their contracts. They have to keep them a certain length.”

Phil’s sons and fellow Duck Dynasty stars Al and Jep have both said that he beat them as children whenever they misbehaved. In his 2015 book, the latter wrote about how his father would whip him with a belt. This would then be followed by a quote of “some scripture about training or discipline.”

Uncle Si’s only son was “trouble before he was even born,” according to an interview his father gave to Fox News in 2017. Scott Robertson apparently had depressive thoughts from the age of five. But, thankfully, by his teenage years he’d been properly diagnosed and given the right medication.

Dealing with fame can be tricky even if you’ve actively pursued it. It’s no surprise, then, that some of the Robertsons struggled to cope after Duck Dynasty made them household names virtually overnight. Missy and Jace’s son Reed has had a particularly tough time, for example. Luckily, though, his nearest and dearest helped him to recover from a period of depression.

Jep made quite the revelation in his 2015 book, The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God: What Honesty and Pain Taught Us. The TV star claimed that he had been abused by an older girl on a school bus when he was six. Jep said that although he was never able to talk about it with his parents back then, the TV star has since come to terms with the incident.

In 2013 some shocking footage surfaced of Phil speaking at a Christian retreat four years earlier. In it, he stated, “You got to marry [girls] when they are about 15 or 16.” In fact, he himself walked down the aisle with Miss Kay when she was 16 and he was 20. What’s more, they’d already had their first child by then.

In 2014 it was revealed that thanks to Louisiana’s 35 percent subsidies for film and TV productions, taxpayers were actually funding a lot of Duck Dynasty’s shooting costs. In fact, taxpayer subsidies reportedly ran to around $70,000 per episode. And commentators pointed out that gay people were essentially paying for Phil to discriminate against them.