Newly elected Representative Vance McAllister, a Republican,
said on Twitter that Robertson would be in the U.S. House of
Representatives chamber, where Obama was to lay out his policy
agenda for the year.
"I'm happy to announce that my friend, constituent & small
business owner @williebosshog will be attending tonight's #SOTU
as my guest," McAllister tweeted — including the younger
Robertson's Twitter handle and the "#SOTU" hashtag, or search
term, for the State of the Union address.
Robertson's wife, Korie, who also appears on the show, was given
a guest ticket to the speech by South Carolina Senator Lindsey
Graham, who tweeted a photo of himself with the couple. Graham,
a Republican, is up for re-election this year.
Robertson, 41, is a son of "Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil
Robertson, who was temporarily suspended from the hit show by
cable television network A&E last month for making anti-gay
remarks in a magazine interview. Other quotes in the interview
were criticized as racist.
Phil Robertson's suspension sparked a national debate over
tolerance and religion, with several Republican politicians and
conservative figures coming to his defense.
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The patriarch, who never apologized for his remarks,
was reinstated after fans protested and big-name corporate sponsors
stuck by the show.
Willie Robertson is the chief executive officer of Duck Commander, a
family-run business that specializes in duck-hunting gear and whose
family's life is the subject of "Duck Dynasty," which averages about
8 million viewers per episode. The show is in its fifth season.
CEO Robertson supported and endorsed McAllister in
November during the Louisiana politician's successful campaign in a
special election for a vacant congressional seat in the Pelican
State's Fifth District.
Robertson — who, like other male members of his family, sports a
trademark long beard and long hair — is often seen wearing an
American flag-style bandanna on his head.
If he attended, he wouldn't be on the House floor with the
representatives, senators, Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices
and other dignitaries assembled for Obama's speech. "Boss Hog" would
be up in the visitor gallery.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; additional
reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Eric Kelsey and Jonathan Oatis)
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