The family of “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson announces that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 78

The family of Duck Dynasty Patriarch Phil Robertson has revealed he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

On Friday’s (December 6) episode of Shameless with the Robertson family On the podcast, the 78-year-old’s sons, Jase and Al, announced his diagnosis, explaining that the diagnosis was related to a long-standing blood disorder that had worsened in recent years.

“I think I spoke on the 1000th podcast, we tried to figure out the diagnosis but according to the doctors he has some kind of blood disease that is causing all sorts of problems,” Jase said.

Jase explained that Robertson’s Alzheimer’s disease was in its early stages but had already begun to affect his daily life. Despite the challenges, they said their father remained committed to contributing to their Christian podcast, which they started in 2018.

“I thought, ‘Well, Phil, you can barely walk around without screaming in pain, and your memory ain’t what it used to be.’ He always says, ‘Tell me about it,'” Jase said, adding that his father finds it difficult to have conversations but remains determined.

Al noted that his father had lived with the blood disorder for years, but its progression had accelerated recently. Jase added that the family is working closely with medical professionals. “We have a team of doctors, and then we have another group of doctors looking at all the tests, and they all agree that there is no cure for his disease,” he said.

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This isn’t the first time the Robertsons have gone public with their problems.

Robertson has been open about his past with alcoholism and infidelity. In a 2013 short film titled The Robertsonsproduced by the Christian group I Am Second, both Robertson and his wife Kay discussed the challenges these issues brought to their marriage.

At the time, Kay said: “The drinking got worse… And I knew it then, but I didn’t want to believe it; (He) ran all over me.”

Robertson and his family rose to fame on the A&E series Duck Dynastywhich aired from 2012 to 2017. The popular reality show followed the lives of Louisiana-based duck hunters.

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In 2013, A&E suspended the patriarch for claiming homosexuality was just one step away from bestiality GQ Interview.

GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, described Robertson’s GQ Comments described as “one of the most vile and extreme statements made against LGBT people in a mainstream publication.”

He examined the backlash in his 2022 book: Uncancelled: Finding Meaning and Peace in a Culture of Accusation, Shame, and Judgment.