Phil Robertson Publicly Bashed Gays ... FOR YEARS A&E Knew All About It

A&E knew all about "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson feelings toward gays when it hired him -- because the guy openly preached that gays were going to hell years before the series started.

Take a look at the video (above) of a 2010 sermon at Berean Bible Church in Pennsylvania ... it's pretty much your typical bible-thumping drill. Phil calls gay people shameful, perverse, heartless, faithless, senseless God haters ... destined for the burning pits of hell.

So with that backdrop ... A&E hired Robertson ... then allowed him to do an interview with GQ where it HAD to know the reporter would ask questions about his feelings toward gays ... and then when he answered honestly A&E punished Robertson.

Robertson may be misguided, but A&E is being dishonest for feigning shock about something it definitely knew all about.