In the first episode of At Home with the Robertsons, Korie Robertson and Willie Robertson tackled a difficult subject, race in America. The former Duck Dynasty stars recalled facing racist comments when their hit A&E series aired because of their biracial son Will Robertson Jr., whom they adopted when he was a newborn. Will was 10 years old when the show started and is now 19.
Willie and Korie said they “didn’t think about race” until they saw the racist comments about Will after Duck Dynasty premiered. “People were like, ‘Wait, who’s the Black kid? Who does he belong to?’ We’re like, ‘Our son?’” Korie told the first At Home guests, Love and Hip Hop stars Yandy and Mendeecees Harris reports PEOPLE. Willie noted that “all these racist people” were making “all kinds of ugly comments” about Will.
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Will also participated in the first episode and noted that he did not think about race either when growing up. “I was one of the only Black kids in my grade. My friends were white,” he said, adding that he thought he was just “a little bit darker.” But as he grew up he realized, “Oh gosh, I’m a lot different.” Mendeecees told Willie and Korie they should talk to Will about how to act around the police.
“You know, I haven’t, because I’ve never once worried about that,” Willie said. “You haven’t had to think about that, but these are conversations that [Yandy] has to have with his sons, Mendeecees, who is Black, said. “We can cut off the beard. We can not get tattoos. We can prevent those things from happening, but you can’t wash off your skin.”
In another segment, Korie said she hoped racism could end. “I think it’s a terrible thing and I just hope and pray that one day we will live in a world where racism just does not exist, where no one is judged for the color of their skin, but unfortunately, we do live in that world right now, that there are some people who still feel that way,” Korie said. “And we’ve taught Will how to deal with that and we hope he’s prepared.”
Yandy told Will it was important for him to understand his roots, notes CNN. Although love should be what connects their family, Yandy added, “But I also think it’s important for wherever you come from to know your history and also to know your roots.”
New episodes of At Home with the Robertsons are published on Mondays and Thursdays on Facebook Watch. In a recent interview with PopCulture, Willie and Korie said they came up with the idea of the show as “maybe building some bridges and creating some talking spaces to really go through some tough issues” and begin building a “solution to come of those problems.” Upcoming guests include Tim and Demi Tebow, and Hannah Brown.
