A son-in-law of the Duggars is in hot water for his comments about transgender people.
Derick Dillard is married to the former Jill Duggar and appears with her on the “19 Kids and Counting” spinoff Counting On,” which airs on TLC.
Dillard recently retweeted a promotional tweet from the network about the series “I Am Jazz,” which documents the life of transgender teen Jazz Jennings
“What an oxymoron… a “reality” show which follows a non-reality,” Dillard tweeted. “‘Transgender’ is a myth. Gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God.”
The Duggars are known for their conservative, religious beliefs, and Dillard and his wife have served as missionaries in El Salvador.
The tweet sparked protest. One Twitter user asked Dillard, “Is it necessary for a grown man to throw shade at a teenage girl?”
“I want to be clear,” Dillard tweeted back. “I have nothing against him. I only have issue with the words and definitions being propagated here.”
His use of a male pronoun to refer to Jennings intensified the backlash.
Jennings appeared to respond to the controversy via her Twitter account.
“Every day I experience cyber-bullying, but I keep sharing my story.” she tweeted. “Today was no different.”
TLC released a statement distancing itself from Dillard’s comments.
“Derick Dillard’s personal statement does not represent the views of TLC,” the statement read