Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale drew only 6 million viewers with Mia Robertson’s cleft surgery story

Duck Dynasty Season 5 ended this week with one of its most touching episodes yet – the Robertson family showed its support as Mia Robertson pursued another cleft palate surgery.

However, in spite of all the praise on Facebook, Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale still performed at a lower level comparing with Season 4 finale.

Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale drew 6.0 million viewers overall with 3.2 million among adults 18-49. That’s a 28% drop from the 8.4 million total viewers who watched the Season 4 finale on October 23 last year and a fall of 27% in the key demo result of 4.4 million.

This week’s finale was also down 29% from the 8.5 million overall viewers who tuned in for the Season 5 premiere on January 15.

Analysts say Phil Robertson last year’s controversy is to blame for the continuous fallout of the show.

Several months later, Phil Robertson is still dealing with the backlash from the controversial comments he made in his fateful GQ magazine interview. In spite of accusations related to homophobia and racism, the Duck Dynasty patriarch managed to maintain a presence on the popular reality series. Unfortunately, ratings for Season 5 finale were a huge disappointment, particularly when compared to the show’s performance at the end of Season 4.

Some fans are wondering whether the low ratings could be the result of continued boycotting from those still bothered by Phil Robertson’s statements. After all, a number of dedicated viewers changed their mind about the show in the aftermath of his controversial GQ interview. But other fans made it clear on Twitter that the debacle had convinced them to stand strong for Phil Robertson they were glad to see a reality star speaking out on his Christian beliefs and they wanted more.

However, Phil Robertson still retains the support of his family.

During a recent interview with CNN, Phil Robertson’s son, Willie, explained: “Anybody who knows [Phil Robertson] – any gay, straight, black, white – anybody who knows Phil knows that he is about love and his message is about God’s love, and God’s grace, and God’s forgiveness, ultimately.”