Mama June isn’t the only one who’s mad. Talk show host Montel Williams ripped Josh Duggar via Twitter on Thursday, May 21, in the wake of allegations that the eldest 19 Kids and Counting kid had molested five girls — some allegedly his sisters — when he was a teen.
Williams, 58, called Duggar a “slimebag” and “world class bigot” in his tweets, saying the reality star, 27, had no right to speak out against the LGBT community.
BREAKING: Josh Duggar, a world class bigot, admits sexually abusing young girls – has consistently stated that LGBT folks r danger to kids
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) May 21, 2015
Gosh, yet another anti-gay alleged “Christian” defender turns out to be a garden variety scumbag. https://t.co/C4gWWE0YnA
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) May 21, 2015
Sorry, Josh Duggar is a bigot, slimebag. Whole family is, and FRC is a scam. Yup, Gay people are the danger to kids? NOPE, JOSH DUGGAR IS
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) May 21, 2015
Williams used a verse from the Bible, Luke 6:37, to illustrate his opinion.
The entire purpose of my rant about Josh Duggar is to illustrate a simple truth: Everything we judge we walk through. pic.twitter.com/da7cZ2SXI2
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) May 21, 2015
My point wasn’t so much to react to allegation itself, it was reacting to the hypocrisy of claiming #lgbt dangerous to kids with his history
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) May 22, 2015
He also sounded off against Duggar family supporters who defended Josh for his past indiscretions. One fan noted, “Standing up for the traditional family model and Christian values is being a bigot? I beg to differ.” Williams retweeted a response from another user, who sniped: “@tammyrenee81 @Montel_Williams Traditional family..what is that exactly? Who decides what is one, and why is your view the only one allowed?”
Williams challenged his followers to consider how the Duggars faced the situation back in 2002, when Josh was 14 years old. “This wasn’t ‘handled’ it was covered up,” the talk show host wrote, alongside a link of the police report. “What kind of parents are these people?”
Others pleaded with the ’90s TV host to forgive the family and Duggar for his past indiscretions.
@Mulder24 when @joshduggar makes amends to the #lgbt community for his faux-Christian hypocrisy I’ll be pleased to do so. #Hypocrite
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) May 21, 2015
Williams also took to his Facebook, where he further railed against Josh’s former employer, the Family Research Council.
“Those of you on Twitter know where I stand on 19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar. Josh chose his path – he chose to work for a bigot – Tony Perkins and his organization,” Williams wrote on Facebook of the D.C.-based nonprofit organization’s president. “He chose to make bigoted comments about #lgbt individuals being dangers to kids – he chose to do ALL OF THOSE THINGS while hiding the fact his father had essentially covered up Josh having, by his own admission, molested his sisters as a teenager. So yes, that renders him a bigot, and yes, it is appropriate to call him a hypocrite, and yes, a scumbag. Turns out the ‘danger’ to kids is Duggar himself.”
Amidst Josh’s response to the child molestation claims on Thursday, Perkins released a statement to Us Weekly confirming the TLC star’s resignation. “Today Josh Duggar made the decision to resign his position as a result of previously unknown information becoming public concerning events that occurred during his teenage years,” Perkins told Us. “Josh believes that the situation will make it difficult for him to be effective in his current work. We believe this is the best decision for Josh and his family at this time. We will be praying for everyone involved.”
Josh, along with his family members, released a full statement via Facebook on Thursday night. “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” the father of three (soon to be four) wrote. “We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling… We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.”
TLC pulled the reality series from its lineup on Friday.