Leah Messer’s not exactly vicious. Compared to some Teen Mom franchise stars, she’s positively timid.
So what has her speaking out in no uncertain terms to condemn a member of her own franchise? The same thing that got David Eason fired.
And she’s not mincing words.
If you watch Teen Mom 2 online, you’re going to see David Eason abruptly vanish from your screens.
Not right away — and not soon enough for many fans, but MTV has severed all ties with the controversial Teen Mom 2 villain, despite having weeks of production remaining.
Not because he spent time in prison for domestic violence and not because he’s accused of continuing to terrorize and abuse his and Jenelle’s children … though how that wasn’t a dealbreaker for the network has left many scratching heads.
But because of his very public and impossible-to-ignore homophobic and transphobic rant on Twitter.
It started as David Eason continued to obsess over guns in the wake of Jenelle’s controversial gun photo from just hours after the devastating Florida shooting.
A conversation on Twitter quickly turned to David Eason’s parenting (because many wouldn’t trust this guy around a houseplant, let alone a child), and David Eason decided to, of his own volition, pivot to slam LGBT folks.
“Lmao why don’t you go tell the homo and transgender parents to start teaching their kids better morals? Oh I forgot that’s supposed to be normal.”
That is, of course, a horrifying thing to tweet for anyone. Not only does it imply that LGBT parents are somehow unfit parents, but that they and their families are abnormal.
And then he doubled down.
Someone else tweeted, asking if David Eason planned to teach his children to hate gay and transgender people.
“No I’m going to teach them not to associate with them or be that way … If you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas.”
One, teaching your children to not associate with LGBT people is teaching them bigotry.
Two, you absolutely cannot “teach” someone to not be who they are, only to deny and hide it, leading to a miserable existence.
Three, that analogy with the dogs and fleas isn’t true for any responsible pet owners. Yes, that’s beside the point, but it’s worth noting.
And finally, four: His inaccurate analogy also implies that LGBT folks are somehow filthy.
Obviously, David Eason was slammed for his homophobic rant, because there is still good in the world and even on Twitter.
Jenelle Evans also caught some well-deserved flack. People asked if she wants her children raised to be angry bigots.
MTV’s response had real consequences — they severed their relationship with David Eason immediately.
With weeks of production left, he won’t receive any further money.
One can be cynical and say that MTV is worried about sponsors pulling out (which, to be clear, they definitely were), but perhaps producers and execs also have certain lines that they won’t allow stars to cross.
Teen Mom 2 is down one villain.
In a statement to Us Weekly, even the normally non-confrontational Leah Messer supports David Eason’s firing.
“I am disgusted by the recent statements made by David Eason and support MTV’s decision to fire him 100 percent.”
She’s really not mincing words. She was nicer than this when Jenelle Evans called her a cheating drug addict.
“This ignorance cannot be tolerated and I refuse to be associated with hatred of any kind.”
Good for Leah Messer for taking this strong moral stance.
“I stand in solidarity with my friends and family in the LGBTQ community and applaud MTV for their quick and decisive action.”
Of course, even if David Eason’s no longer on the payroll, he’s still married to Jenelle and she’s still a Teen Mom 2 star.
With all of the fame and all of that sweet, sweet Teen Mom money that comes with it.
Is it only a matter of time before the Teen Mom 2 archvillain is held accountable? Not just for the things that she says, but for the frightening way that she raises her children?
Or is that more of a job for social services and the courts and not really MTV’s job?