Jep and Jessica Robertson Talk 'Duck Dynasty' Patriarch Phil's Love for Their New African-American Baby, Say 'We Laugh About' How His Words on Race Were 'Misconstrued'

Jep and Jessica Robertson couldn’t be happier about welcoming their new addition, adopted son Jules Augustus “Gus” Robertson, and tell PEOPLE Now that family patriarch Phil Robertson feels exactly the same way.

After introducing Gus during the premiere of their spin-off show Jep and Jessica: Growing the Dynasty, the Duck Dynasty couple says that – despite Phil’s public history of controversial comments on race and a rush of media scrutiny last week about his reaction to having an African-American grandson – Phil reacted with nothing but love for Gus.

“We’ve never known him to say anything against any race at all, it doesn’t matter who it is,” Jessica says. “We laugh about it as a family, actually, because we all know Phil and Kay are. They’re the most loving family and the most giving family.”

Robertson was briefly suspended from the family’s A&E show in 2013 following an interview about pre-Civil War African-Americans in which he said he never “saw the mistreatment of any black person.”

“That was a little misconstrued because my dad, he has said there’s one race – the human race,” Jep told PEOPLE Now on Monday. “He always says that, he really does.”

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The couple, who have four other children (Lily, Merritt, Priscilla and River), say they’re conscious of how growing up black in a white family will impact their son but have sought advice from friends who’ve also adopted children of different races.

“[Gus’s race] doesn’t matter to us. We think he’s beautiful,” Jess explains. “That was never something we even thought about.”

In fact, the reality stars simply asked for a healthy baby of any race or gender, says Jessica, who says Gus “literally fell into our laps, basically.”

They’re both prepared for commentary from their fans and followers, but Jep says he pays no mind to negativity.

“I’ve seen already on social media people saying very rude things,” he said on PEOPLE Now. “I immediately block it.”

And the pair doesn’t fear an adjustment period with their kids and Gus, as the difference in their skin tones hasn’t “ever been a topic of conversation.”

“We don’t view people like that,” Jessica explains. “Race has nothing to do with who a person is or how they react or how they treat other people, so that’s not an issue for our family.”