Derick Dillard is not backing down – or using proper pronouns.
The 28-year-old husband of Jill Duggar on Thursday engaged in a prolonged discussion with a Twitter user on Thursday expanding on his earlier comments about fellow TLC star Jazz Jennings, this time saying that he’s got nothing against the 17-year-old transgender female, who he feels is being used to push ‘a larger agenda.’
The initial issue between the Counting On personality and the I Am Jazz star began three months back, when Dillard dubbed Jennings’ show ‘an oxymoron’ as a ‘reality show which follows a non-reality.’
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At odds: Derick Dillard, 28, (L) said in a series of tweets Thursday that he pities transgender reality star Jazz Jennings, 17, as he feels she’s being used to forward a presumably-liberal agenda
The Arkansas native declared in an August 2 tweet that ‘”Transgender” is a myth’ as ‘gender is not fluid,’ but ‘ordained by God.’
Jazz responded August 3: ‘Every day I experience cyber-bullying, but I keep sharing my story. Today was no different.’
The hubbub seemed to die down until this past week, when a Twitter user named Shelbey told Dillard that while she can understand his rationale on some issues, he tends to generate negative responses to his tweets ‘because they often come off as hateful,’ adding that ‘calling someone’s identity an oxymoron is very condescending.’
Dillard responded in saying that he feels sorry for Jazz, but refused to use female pronouns in talking about the Florida native, who ‘is a transgender female and has been living as a girl since kindergarten,’ according to her show’s website.
Questionable: Derick said he doesn’t have hard feelings against Jazz, but refused to address the transgender girl with female pronouns, referring to her as ‘him’
‘I pity Jazz, [for] those who take advantage of him in order [to] promote their agenda, including the parents who allow these kinds of decisions [to] be made by a child,’ Dillard said. ‘It’s sad that [people] would use a juvenile this way. Again, nothing against him, just unfortunate what’s on tv these days.’
‘I really have nothing against the kid and wish him all the best in life. I just hate seeing him used this way.’
Dillard said that he ‘never bullied anyone’ with his previous remarks, but was expressing his beliefs that the show is a tool of propaganda.
Red carpet ready: Jazz was snapped at an NYC fashion show this past February in a red gown
Big city fun: Derick and wife Jill Duggar were snapped in NYC in 2014
Brushing it off: Jazz didn’t name Derick in her presumed rebuttal on Saturday
Fast response: TLC was quick to distance themselves from Dillard and his remarks in a statement released via Twitter on Saturday
‘I’m expressing my view of what should be treated as reality; if I say I feel like I am Nepali, that doesn’t make me so,’ he said. Dillard noted that he believes ‘it’s important to have a mature discussion’ on the topic, as he’s ‘just expressing [his] concerns, as a Christian.
‘The beauty of the world,’ he tweeted, ‘is that everybody is not like me.’
Jazz kept things cryptic in her presumable response to the tweets on Saturday. She wrote: ‘In the face of constant ignorance and hatred I prefer to disregard negative opinions and continue moving forward with love.’
TLC on Saturday was swift to articulate in a statement that Dillard hasn’t been on their airwaves ‘for months,’ and that there’s no immediate plans to feature him on the program anytime soon. They made clear that they’re not in agreement with his remarks, and support Jennings and her show.
‘We want to let our viewers know that Derick Dillard has not participated in Counting On for months and the network has no plans to feature him in the future,’ the network said. ‘We want to reiterate that Derick’s personal statements do not reflect the views of the network. TLC is proud to share the story of Jazz Jennings and her family and will continue to do so.’