19 Kids and Counting star attacks transgender 16-year-old girl
A Christian reality star has lashed out at a 16-year-old transgender girl.
Derick Dillard is married to Jill Duggar, a member of the evangelical Duggar family that spawned the infamous TLC reality series.
Dillard, a grown 28-year-old man, decided to tweet abuse this week aimed at transgender 16-year-old Jazz Jennings.
Responding to an ad for a documentary following Jazz, Dillard wrote: “What an oxymoron… a ‘reality’ show which follows a non-reality. ‘Transgender’ is a myth. Gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God.”
He also referred to Jazz as a boy, adding: “I want to be clear. I have nothing against him. I only have issue with the words and definitions being propagated here.”
Dillard stars in Duggar spinoff series ‘Jill and Jessa: Counting On’.
It’s no surprise that the Duggar clan is packed with anti-LGBT views.
Duggar parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have lobbied aggressively against LGBT rights protections previously, campaigning against an LGBT anti-discrimination law by claiming transgender people sexually assault children
Ms Duggar said: “I don’t believe the citizens of Fayetteville would want males with past child predator convictions that claim they are female to have a legal right to enter private areas that are reserved for women and girls.
“I doubt that Fayetteville parents would stand for a law that would endanger their daughters or allow them to be traumatized by a man joining them in their private space. We should never place the preference of an adult over the safety and innocence of a child.”
The Duggars once called for Facebook fans to post photos with their spouse – and then deleted all the gay responses.
Meanwhile, Dillard’s brother-in-law Josh Duggar served as executive director of the Family Research Council – an anti-gay hate group that works to oppose LGBT rights across the US.
It later emerged that despite his work for the ‘family values’ homophobic group, Josh Duggar had molested underage girls.
An unsealed police report shed light on claims that Duggar had sexually assaulted girls including his own sisters as a teen.
Mr Duggar has since apologised for his “inexcusable” behaviour, and stepped down from his role at FRC. His parents later admitted they were aware of the incidents, but kept it hidden from the public for many years.
Following the abuse allegations, TLC pulled the plug on the long-running show. However, Dillard stars in spinoff ‘Jill and Jessa: Counting On’.
Senior Republican Mike Huckabee – who has displayed an endorsement from the Duggars on his website – previously released a statement defending the family, and claiming that child molestation is not “unforgivable”.
