I Stand with Phil Robertson petition grows

The petition urging A&E to restore the star of its popular Duck Dynasty show to his position has inched ever closer to its goal.

Since Phil Robertson was suspended indefinitely after making controversial comments in a GQ article equating homosexuality to bestiality and the Jim Crow South to an idyll, fans of the reality series have rushed to his defense.

By Thursday morning, a week after his suspension, more than 240,000 people had signed a petition circulated by Faith Driven Consumer, fewer than 10,000 shy of its goal, chiding A&E for its "intolerant, discriminatory, and punitive treatment" of the Duck Dynasty star.

There are 46 million Faith Driven Consumers in America today who spend 1.75 trillion dollars annually," the petition reads. "Should you refuse to equally respect and welcome our legitimately held views, we will gladly stop watching this and all other A&E programming and turn to any reformulation of Duck Dynasty on another network -- while simultaneously supporting brands that stand with the show and the Robertson family."

Duck Dynasty has shattered cable records for non-scripted series, bringing in an unprecedented 11.8 million viewers in its Season 4 premiere in August. While A&E has said it plans to air the already-completed fifth season of the show beginning in January, the Robertson family has said it won't return to the show for more episodes without its patriarch.

So far, the network has yet to comment definitively on the future of Robertson, or the show, after the upcoming season. Robertson has refused to back down from his comments.