“Bad Press,” is as about as subjective as one can get. In fact Robertson is NOT a professional actor as Sheen is. In any case. a Church is a special case of a corporation, which fact is reflected in magna carta, and in a negative way in the First Amendment. A&E is just one company contracting for a service from another company, of which Robertson is the senior partner.
Bad press isn’t subjective at all, it’s actually very objective, if a sizable group of people start organizing a boycott that’s bad press and the person that brought it on is now in trouble.
He’s paid to be a character (a dramatized version of himself but still a character) in front of cameras for the entertainment of others. He’s an actor. In fact his contract with Gurney Productions (the guys that make the show) probably came off the same boiler plate as Charlie’s contract with Mohawk (makers of his current show), though there’s contractually obligated drug testing that’s been added to Charlie’s.
You got part of it right, A&E is just a company contracting services. And part of that contract includes don’t bring bad press onto the network or the show. He did, he’s suspended, it’s just that simple.