If free speech is at the heart of the "Duck Dynasty" controversy, which resulted in the suspension of patriarch Phil Robertson after he expressed his anti-gay views in an interview, celebrities are not being shy about exercising their First Amendment rights.
Some of them are even siding with the Duck Commander in their own special way — that is, sarcasm.
"As a student of history one of the things we’ve learned is that the mightiest dynasties eventually crumble,” said Jon Stewart on Thursday night's "The Daily Show," before joking that he thought "Duck Dynasty" was a show about ducks re-enacting "Dynasty" and he thinks it would have a "huge gay audience."
"Look, I think what the guy said is ignorant but I also have an inclination to support a world where saying ignorant (expletive) on television doesn't get you kicked off that medium," he added later.
His partner in crime, of course, had more to say on "The Colbert Report."
"This is a terrible day for Americans though admittedly a great day for ducks," Stephen Colbert said on his Comedy Central show Thursday before he sported a beard like the Duck Commander. "I'll admit it's not the eloquent speech you might expect from a backwoods Louisiana bird murderer but he does have a point: the vagina does have more there. Face it, it's a trainwreck. Who knows what's going on with that business?"
Colbert ended by expressing sympathy for A&E: "With this controversy, they may have just lost 'Duck Dynasty’s' massive black and gay audience."
On "The Arsenio Hall Show," the host elicited a thoughtful response from guest Clay Aiken.
"The thing that frustrates me the most is there are people who have come out today and said it's free speech," said Aiken, a former "American Idol" runner-up. "I would ask them if the joke was about ... interracial marriage or that we need to put all children with disabilities in institutions, would we still be saying that's free speech, we're OK with that?"
On Twitter, "Raising Hope" star Martha Plimpton said she thought Robertson should be able to express himself:
Comedian Lisa Lampanelli expressed shock:
Piers Morgan made a helpful suggestion:
And another:
Actor Billy Eichner brainstormed:
Actor Seth Rogen picked up on a new angle:
"House of Lies" star Don Cheadle agreed:
And Aziz Ansari of "Parks and Recreation" arrived at an interesting theory: