Sadie Robertson found fame with her family on A&E's hit show "Duck Dynasty," but she's not letting celebrity change her or her beliefs — and neither is her family, the 16-year-old told Fox411.
"I think people use fame as an excuse to lose their faith," she said. "Faith is obviously my No. 1 priority, and I think you need to put God at the top of everything you do."
And according to the young star, religion is the reason her family decided to start doing "Duck Dynasty." It certainly wasn't for fame or riches, the latter of which the Robertsons already had plenty of thanks to the success of their company, Duck Commander.
"We started (the show) to get the message of God out there," explained Robertson, the daughter of stars Korie and Willie. "It's our faith that catches people's eyes because sadly, it's not something we're used to seeing (on TV) these days."
The teenager said that before they agreed to do the show, the entire family came together and agreed upon a few basic rules: First was that God had to be the priority, and if he wasn't, the show would end. Second, "If we start to think of ourselves too highly, we remember that we were happy before the show and we will be happy after the show."
But it was putting God ahead of everything else that nearly brought the popular program to an end recently. When patriarch and star Phil Robertson made anti-gay comments in GQ's December issue, A&E suspended him from filming. The family was quick to defend him, saying in a statement that they "cannot imagine the show going forward" without their elder.
The patriarch has stood by his comments. "I will not give or back off from my path because you conquered death, Father, so we are not worried about all the repercussions," he said during a December Bible study group attended by the MailOnline.
A&E eventually decided to let Phil Robertson continue filming, but the show's ratings dropped when it returned for season five in January, with 8.5 million viewers compared to 11.8 million for the show's fourth season premiere.
"Duck Dynasty" returns with new episodes on Wednesday, March 19 at 10 p.m. on A&E.
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