Dustin Lance Black hits back at Katie Hopkins over ‘ignorant, homophobic’ surrogacy jibe
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 01: Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black attend the Vodafone Passes Launch held at The Bankside Vaults on November 1, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/https://thepinknews.com/images/2018/03/GettyImages-869066704.jpg
Dustin Lance Black has hit back at Katie Hopkins after she criticised him for having a baby with husband Tom Daley.
Hopkins, a columnist for Canadian far-right website The Rebel Media, had criticised the pair for having a child via surrogacy.
After the pair announced they are expecting a child, she wrote on Twitter: “And with Amazon Prime Now they get free next day delivery”.
Black hit back at the columnist today, after fans attacked her “ignorant” and “homophobic” comments.
He wrote: “For any who care to understand this process, surrogacy for gay & straight parents as well as most pregnancies requiring medical assistance can take years longer than those that don’t. And pregnancies requiring medical help come with their very own hopes, heartbreaks & joy.”
Black and Daley last week hit back at critics in the media after they were pilloried in the right-wing press.
The pair confirmed that they conceived the child via an egg donor, with a female friend who has asked not to be named publicly volunteering as a surrogate.
Opening up about their choice of surrogate, Black added: “I’ve read a couple of the tweets and there’s some big misconceptions out there about what this process is.
“I’ve never heard of someone who does not know their surrogate, and doesn’t know them well. A part of the process is either choosing someone you know and love and have that relationship with… or you have to build a relationship like that.
“The women who are willing to do this and give this gift to couples who can’t have children – there is a love and a warmth and a generosity and a kindness that’s difficult not to fall in love with.
“We certainly have that with ours. We do love her very much.
“I don’t want to give too many details because she has asked not to be named publicly. We need to respect that, and I hope the press will respect that – but they become family.
“This is a person who we love and are incredibly grateful for.”
Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Right-wing newspapers have savaged the pair, with Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn claiming their decision was “not normal” and made him want to vomit.
Even some women’s rights campaigners had criticised them – over false suggestions in the tabloid press that they had “rented” a commercial surrogate.
Tom Daley said: “It’s difficult because you see stuff online. We know we have wanted a kid more than anything in the world. When people judge about us using a surrogate and stuff… there are people who can’t have kids, and I don’t think there would be as much drama if it was a straight couple.
“Take Kim Kardashian, for example – she used a surrogate and there wasn’t any issue with it. There is an element of difference in terms of the way we’ve been treated.”
Dustin Lance Black, himself a veteran LGBT rights campaigner, said he was “shocked” by the response.
He said: “I do find it really shocking, and I’m not easily shocked – I’ve been in the LGBT rights battle for a long time now and I’ve faced a lot of discrimination. It hasn’t been an easy path and I’ve gotten quite used to that. But I was shocked to have this response to us having a child.
“I think we have to step out of the bliss and be vigilant and correct the record and let people know what this really is – because we need to correct people who are misinformed. That’s the best we can do.”
Black also added that he was planning on taking a career break after the child was born.
He said: “I plan on taking a good long time off so that [Tom] can continue to train and the child can have the attention.”
