‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Phil Robertson ‘Not Good’: Family Shares Grim Health Update
West Monroe, La., April 5, 2025 – Phil Robertson, the bearded patriarch of A&E’s Duck Dynasty, is facing a steep decline in health, with his son Jase Robertson delivering a stark update on Friday: “It’s not good.” Speaking on the latest episode of the “Unashamed With the Robertson Family” podcast, taped April 2 and released April 3, Jase laid bare the 78-year-old’s struggles with Alzheimer’s disease, a blood disorder, and fractured vertebrae, painting a picture of a family icon battling to hold on as Duck Dynasty: The Revival looms without him this summer.
A Worsening Battle
Phil’s health saga took a public turn in December 2024 when Jase and brother Al revealed his Alzheimer’s diagnosis on the podcast, noting early memory lapses that sidelined him from their show after years of co-hosting. “He’s unable to sit down and have a conversation,” Jase said then, per E! Online. By April, the prognosis darkened. “I’m just giving the blunt truth—I’ll say, ‘Not good,’” Jase told listeners this week, per Us Weekly. The disease has “accelerated,” ravaging Phil’s body alongside a blood disorder causing thick blood and possible mini-strokes, per Willie Robertson’s Fox News chat last month.
The physical toll compounds the mental fade. Jase recounted Phil’s back woes—fractured vertebrae from a 2023 surgery that broke again this year, per Taste of Country. “He can barely walk without crying out in pain,” Jase said, a reality that’s grounded the once-robust outdoorsman who built Duck Commander into a hunting empire. Posts on X echo the despair: “Phil Robertson’s condition worsens—family doing the best they can,” one user wrote Friday, linking to coverage.
Family Rallies, Revival Looms
The Robertsons are circling the wagons. “We’re making them comfortable, doing the best we can,” Jase said of Phil and wife Kay, 77, who’s recovering from a February fall and surgery, per TV Insider. Kay’s “doing better than expected,” Jase noted—a rare bright spot. Phil, though, forces himself to eat despite no appetite, clinging to faith, as Willie told Fox News in December: “He plans to keep going.”
Duck Dynasty: The Revival, greenlit by A&E in January for a summer debut, will miss its founding star. Focusing on Willie, Korie, and their kids—John Luke, Sadie, Will, Bella, and Rebecca—the two-season, 20-episode run sidesteps Phil’s absence, a “heartbreaking” but inevitable call given his state, per PennLive. “He’d agree he can’t do it,” Jase admitted. Uncle Si, Miss Kay, and others return, but Phil’s shadow looms large over the Louisiana clan that charmed millions from 2012 to 2017.
A Legacy in Limbo
Phil’s decline jars against his outsized legacy—quarterback turned duck-call mogul, whose camo-clad grit made Duck Dynasty a cable juggernaut. Posts on X mourn the shift: “Phil’s not good—end of an era,” one fan wrote. As Trump’s tariffs crash markets and Gaza’s medics dodge bullets, the Robertsons’ rural drama feels worlds apart, yet Jase’s candor—“We’re just trying to give him the best life we can,” per Yahoo—grounds it in raw humanity. For now, Phil’s fight is a quiet one, his family’s love the last line of defense against a fading light.
If you’d like me to dig deeper—say, into Phil’s past controversies or the revival’s cast—let me know! What’s your next thought?
