August 4, 2017
Trans Teen Jazz Jennings Gets Cyber-Bullied by Member of the Duggar Clan
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Nobody could ever accuse a member of the Duggar clan of buying into that whole "do unto others..." thing.
Derick Dillard, star of the failing "19 Kids and Counting" spin-off "Counting On," is a missionary turned reality TV star. After Tuesday, he can add cyber bully to his resume.
It's a well-established fact that the Duggar family has a problem with the LGBT community. From work campaigning for anti-LGBT politicians like Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, to son Josh's former stint as front man for a well-known hate group and matriarch Michelle's well-publicized anti-transgender robocalls, the Duggars have a long history of using their celebrity and Christian faith to bash gender non-conforming people.
So it came as no surprise Tuesday, when eldest daughter Jill's husband Derick Dillard took to social media to trash transgender teen and fellow TLC reality star in front of his 122 thousand followers.
Retweeting a promotional post by his employer, TLC, advertising the reality series "I Am Jazz," featuring transgender teen Jazz Jennings, 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.
Dillard then doubled down with a follow-up tweet that misgendered Jennings.
Jennings took the high road and responded:
"Everyday I experience cyber-bullying, but I keep sharing my story. Today was no different."
Responses to Dillard's tweet were almost uniformly critical of him.
Conversely, Jennings received an outpouring of support, including this message from the Human Rights Campaign.
Jax Taylor of "Vanderpump Rules" was also quick to rush to Jennings' defense by trashing a tweet by Dillard's with Jill (nee Duggar).