Derick Dillard Under Fire For Atheist Sympathies: Has He Abandoned His Beliefs?

It’s been quite an interesting few months in the life of Derick Dillard.

It all started, of course, when Derick got fired by TLC after harassing transgender teen and fellow network star Jazz Jennings in a bizarre Twitter tirade.

Derick issued an explanation for his remarks that he probably thinks qualifies as an apology, but fans weren’t buying it, and most seemed happy to see him go.

Earlier this week, Derick doubled down on his homophobia by promoting a speaking engagement by a pastor who became famous for his support of the abhorrent practice of conversion therapy.

It briefly seemed that Derick had taken an “in for a penny, in for a pound” approach to his own bigotry and decided that since he’d already been fired from TLC, the time was right to rebrand himself as a far-right firebrand.

Today, however, something interesting occurred on Derick’s Twitter page.

“I want to personally invite any LGBTQ person & anyone else who would like to come with my family and me to church next Sunday. See you there!” Derick tweeted.

These days, it seems that Derick is supporting his family almost entirely through monetary donations from fans, so many were suspicious that the tweet was simply a publicity stunt or part of an effort to rebuild his image.

But some expressed an interest in taking him up on the invitation.

One woman identified herself as an atheist and asked if it was okay for her to attend services with Derick and his family.

The former reality star astonished many Duggar fans when he responded, “Absolutely!”

Some expressed outright shock that Derick would invite someone whose beliefs are so different from his own into his house of worship.

The mini-controversy comes on the heels of reports that Derick’s wife, Jill Duggar, had turned her back on her beliefs due to an Instagram post in which she revealed that she’s reading a book with sections addressed to those who are questioning their faith in God.

In the end, however, it turned out there was really nothing to either scandal.

Jill was simply offering support to those whose belief had wavered, while Derick is apparently hoping to convert some non-believers, which is actually one of the expressed duties of Independent Baptists.

Oh, well. We’re sure a legitimate Derick scandal will pop up soon enough.

In the meantime, watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.

View Slideshow: Derick Dillard Labels Transgender Movement as Form of Child Abuse

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Blake Griffin Sued for Palimony, You Abandoned Our Family for Kendall Jenner!

Brynn Cameron has filed a palimony lawsuit against her baby daddy, Blake Griffin, claiming he shamelessly abandoned her and their children for Kendall Jenner. The lawsuit slams Griffin as a heartless cad who left his fiancee after “cruelly…

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Meghan Markle"s Brother Lashes Out: She Abandoned Her Family!

We’re just over three months away from the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

As expected, royal obsessives the world over are already giddy with anticipation.

Sadly, just as unsurprising is the fact that opportunists and con artists are coming out of the wood work hoping to exploit Meghan in her remaining days as a civilian.

And some of them are members of her immediate family.

It all started when Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Grant, threatened to publish a tell-all.

Amazingly, it looks like she managed to land a publisher, but it sounds like the book won’t be loaded with the bombshell revelations the public is hoping for.

Meghan and Samantha reportedly haven’t had any contact with one in well over a decade, and sources say they weren’t close with one another for several years before that.

So unless you’re hankering for some insights into Meg’s high school study habits, the book probably won’t do much for you.

Just last month, the sketchy sibling started going by Samantha Markle and managed to score a deal with TLC to produce a special about Meghan.

And now it seems she’s not the only member of the Markle clan who’s looking to line their pockets.

Apparently, Meghan also has a half-brother named Tom Markle Jr.

In addition to having a name that sounds like an anagram for a Harry Potter villain, Tom is apparently even more shady than Samantha.

Rather than threatening to share Meghan’s secrets with the world, he took the more direct route of asking Meg for money for a personal security detail, and then publicly calling her out for abandoning her family when she refused.

In a recent interview with In Touch, Tommy Marks shared the contents of the email he received from Meghan’s lawyers that basically told him to go do his panhandling elsewhere.

“My lawyer had a phone meeting with her lawyer, and he emailed me some of [Meghan’s] direct words. She said, ‘That’s distant family and I don’t know those people,"” Tom told the tabloid.

“That’s pretty harsh,” he adds calling the email “a slap in the face” and “below the belt.”

“I spent a lot of time with her growing up,” Tom says.

In the emails, Tom asks Meghan and Buckingham Palace officials to “take some action to protect [him],” which apparently meant not only security services but protection from what he claims are inaccurate media reports.

“There was a time where people were following me around at work, taking pictures and posting horrible stories about me and my family saying I’m a white supremacist, a drug addict and a dealer, all this crap that just isn’t true,” Tom tells In Touch.

“My attorney was reaching out to her people and the palace to basically [help us] try to get a retraction for all these false stories in [countries] where there are different laws.” 

Reps for Harry were apparently more polite than Meghan’s lawyers, telling Tom, “We are so sorry to hear you have been having a tough time with the media.”

Of course, they still didn’t offer him any sort of assistance with the problem.

We’re assuming Meghan is currently being trained in how to tell someone to shove off using proper royal decorum.

View Slideshow: Meghan Markle: The Raciest Pics of Prince Harry’s Bride-To-Be

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Briana DeJesus: Luis Miguel Has NEVER Seen His Baby! He Abandoned Her!

Where in the world is Luis Miguel?

Teen Mom 2‘s Briana DeJesus’ newest baby daddy has snown zero interest in being a daddy to his baby, leaving fans and viewers scratching their heads.

In a new interview, Briana tries to explain Luis’ absence … and reveals exactly how little contact Luis has had with his daughter.

Briana DeJesus is a very dramatic addition to the Teen Mom 2 cast.

She gives her daughters unique, thematic names that nonetheless don’t look like they’d be disqualifying on a job application.

(It’s not fair, but we know that employers look at names — but Stella is a normal name, and Nova is benign enough despite being unique)

But when it comes to baby daddies … Briana sure can pick them.

Devoin Austin, who is at least biologically Nova’s father, has been called out as an absentee father more than once by Briana.

In fact, Briana just recently blasted Devoin for stealing and reposting photos to pretend that he was there for Nova’s milestones, making himself look like a decent father to his social media followers.

(Briana says that he shows up where MTVs cameras are … but that that’s about it)

Now, at least, Devoin has an excuse for not being there … we guess.

Because Devoin Austin is back behind bars. Drug charges will do that.

And then there’s Luis, Stella’s dad.

In an interview with RadarOnline, Briana DeJesus says that Luis Miguel has abandoned their daughter.

“He has not seen Stella, he has not helped with Stella, and he hasn’t really asked about Stella.”

As hard as it is to imagine someone not wanting to meet their own baby, we know that it happens all of the time.

That doesn’t make it any less sad.

“He’s pretty much non-existent right now. He disappeared. He totally vanished. The moment I had Stella he went MIA.”

Inexcusable.

Briana says that she just can’t understand Luis’ behavior, especially considering that he had previously been so opposed to the idea of giving up Stella for adoption.

“You have a daughter… What’s going on? He just is not right in the head.”

Briana offers up what sounds like a guess — that perhaps the Teen Mom 2 cameras are what’s deterring him.

“I can understand where he’s coming from because MTV is always around when he is around.”

That doesn’t sound like a real deterrent, and we’ll get to that in a moment.

“It makes him uncomfortable. We’re all yelling at him cause he’s not doing what he’s supposed to do. But that’s no excuse. It sucks.”

She’s right that it’s no excuse.

But also? Teen Mom 2 airtime means collecting a Teen Mom 2 paycheck.

For others — for Devoin Austin, right up until he was taken into police custody — it’s a huge motivator for them to show up.

Even if Luis is just camera-shy, that’s not a valid excuse for neglecting his responsibilities to Stella.

Especially because, again, he was apparently insistent that Briana not give up Stella for adoption.

Despite all of that, Briana isn’t cutting off her baby daddies from their kids.

“Whenever they want to see the babies they can come.”

We don’t imagine that she’s holding her breath, though.

Briana DeJesus shot down Javi Marroquin dating rumors, claiming that she’s too busy being a mom.

Being a single mom with two children and being a reality star?

We’re exhausted just thinking about that. So we’d be willing to believe that she’s really avoiding the dating scene.

View Slideshow: Briana DeJesus Photos: From 16 & Pregnant to Teen Mom 2!

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Taylor Swift: Abandoned By Her Squad?

Taylor Swift has been experiencing a lot of ups and downs recently.

Her return to the music world was less triumphant than expected, as “Look What You Made Me Do” was met with a mixed (at best) response from both critics and the ear-having public in general.

Her fortunes seemed to turn around with the release of the single’s music video, which was hailed for its daring take on Taylor’s many reinventions.

Less than one week after the release, however, many who initially applauded Swift are re-assessing the video, thanks in large part to what many perceive as petty shots at fellow celebs, including what might be a truly tasteless sight gag inspired by Kim Kardashian being robbed at gunpoint.

As one of the music industry’s biggest names, Taylor is well acquainted with what a fickle mistress the public can be, but even she’s never inspired such rapid changes in opinion.

In the past, whenever Swift was at a low point, be it the result of a breakup or one of her many, messy feuds, fans comforted themselves with the knowledge that she still had her “squad” of famous friends to lean on for support.

These days, however, several members of Taylor’s clique seem intent on distancing themselves from the singer.

Rumors of Taylor’s “squad problems” are nothing new, but this time Swift herself seems to be acknowledging that she’s not as popular with fellow young female celebs as she used to be.

The “LWYMMD” video cleverly acknowledges the dissipation of the squad with a scene in which Taylor sports a shirt signed by such A-list friends as  Lena Dunham, Selena Gomez, and Gigi Hadid.

Many have noted that some notable names – including that of Taylor’s supposed best friend Karlie Kloss – are glaringly absent from the shirt.

Even more telling is the fact that few of Taylor’s friends have voiced their support for her in the week since “LWYMMD” was released.

That’s not terribly surprising, as the single has been scathingly critiqued not only for representing some of the weakest songwriting of Taylor’s career, but also for alleged bullying and cultural appropriation.

The truth is, befriending Taylor used to be a quick and easy way for a lesser-known celeb to boost her public and earn instant cool cred.

These days, however, being besties with Swift can serve as a liability, as the members of her squad often find themselves in the position of being forced to defend flimsy arguments and problematic missteps.

As The Daily Beast points out, Selena Gomez became a victim of this phenomenon last year.

In the early days of Swift’s feud with Kim Kardashian, Gomez rushed to her friend’s defense, reminding fans that “there are more important things to talk about” than a petty squabble among celebs.

This prompted fans to seek out Gomez’s stances on important topical issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, only to find she rarely addresses such issues.

The situation proved to be no more than a minor road bump in Selena’s career, but it sort of thing one avoids entirely by not joining Swift’s squad, and thus, implicitly co-signing the shade she throws at other public figures.

That’s not to say that all of Taylor’s friends buddied up to her solely for the attention, but it does seem that Taylor’s inability to let go of a grudge is having a negative impact on more than just her music.

View Slideshow: Taylor Swift Breakup Songs: Who Has She Targeted?

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Jenelle Evans Reveals Heartbreaking Childhood: My Dad Abandoned Me!

For as long as we can remember, Jenelle Evans has been a complete and total trainwreck.

But to be fair, she didn’t magically become that way.

Sure, she’s done a lot of terrible things.

After getting pregnant at 16, she signed custody of her newborn over to her mother so that she could party, and eventually so that she could develop a heroin addiction.

In addition to the drugs, she’s been arrested numerous times for assault.

She went on to have two more kids with two more men, and in all these years, she’s never shown one single ounce of self awareness.

But, as we’ve seen on Teen Mom 2, Jenelle’s mother, Barbara, has issues of her own.

Good ol’ Babs is prone to yelling, too, and she and Jenelle obviously have a very toxic relationship. She’s even said that when she was younger, she used to be a lot like her daughter.

So with Barbara for a mother, and … wait, have we ever even seen Jenelle’s father?

No, we have not.

And, according to an excerpt from Jenelle’s upcoming book, his absence played a major role in how she turned out.

Her book is titled Read Between the Lines: From the Diary of a Teenage Mom, and as you can probably imagine, it includes some old diary entries, along with some updated reflections.

In one section of the book, Jenelle writes “Robert Evans was only in my life for a little while. For that short and glorious time, I was daddy’s little girl.”

“I loved and admired him. I still do in some way.”

But, she continues, “Without warning everything changed, and my dad cut himself out of my life.”

“Even now, as a grown woman, we don’t talk. Maybe one day that will change. Maybe one day we can find one another, get to know each other, and he can finally be my father.”

“Until then, he is just my biological dad.”

She goes on to recall some things about the man — for instance, she remembers him being “an awesome singer and musician,” and he loved driving around, listening to music.

She also remembers that he didn’t get along with Barbara, mostly because of his “misplaced sense of priorities.”

“Having been in and out of my own troubled relationships,” she writes, “I can only guess at what their marriage was like.”

“It was rocky enough not to last, and that says enough on its own, I suppose.”

Sadly, she adds that she wishes she had paid more attention then “so I could watch for the same signs in my own life.”

This isn’t the first time she’s talked about her father, but it seems like this is the first time she’s going into as much detail.

Last year, she wrote a surprisingly candid entry on her website about her father, explaining that he left the family when she was just 5 or 6 years old.

She teased her book even then, writing that her older siblings and her mother “always had a sour attitude towards my father and I had no idea why.”

“Later on I found out there was a huge reason behind that. I’ll save that for my book.”

While we don’t know the big bombshell yet, Jenelle also wrote then that her parents got into “physical altercations” regularly, and though he visited them for a few years after he left Barbara, he eventually stopped.

He called once, a couple of years after that, but she never saw him again.

“I don’t know what happened in the past, everyone has a past but everyone can change,” she wrote.

“I know he loved his kids and if he didn’t he wouldn’t have tried to be in our lives in the first place.”

Oh, Jenelle …

View Slideshow: Teen Mom Cast: Before They Were Stars …

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Kailyn Lowry: COMPLETELY Abandoned By Chris Lopez?!

Ever since the world learned that Kailyn Lowry is pregnant with her third child, Teen Mom 2 fans have been desperately seeking new information about her baby daddy, Chris Lopez.

For months, there was no official confirmation that Lopez got Lowry pregnant, and now that the cat’s out of the bag, details about Lopez remain hard to come by.

And now it seems we may know why Lopez has been maintaining such a low profile.

From the start, it was clear that Lopez was not seeking reality TV fame.

In fact, in his one, brief appearance on Teen Mom 2, he asked that his face be blurred.

Now, it seems that Lopez wants no connection either to the show or to Kailyn.

In the past, Kailyn has complained that she’ll be raising her third child on her own.

It’s slowly becoming clear just how literally she meant that, as Radar Online is reporting today that Lopez will not be present at his child’s birth.

We’ve known for several weeks that Kailyn and Chris broke up after a very brief fling, but it’s beginning to look like the split was not amicable, as was initially reported.

It seems that in their first weeks apart, Chris and Kailyn planned to maintain a peaceful co-parenting relationship.

Those plans have now been scrapped, and apparently, Lopez’s involvement in his child’s life will be limited to financial contributions.

“In the beginning, he helped when she needed him,” a source close to Kailyn tells Radar Online.

“Then they went their separate ways.”

At this point, the relationship between Chris and Kailyn has deteriorated to the point that Lopez will likely not be in the delivery room the see his child enter the world.

“She wants to give him the opportunity to see his child being born,” says the insider.

“She never said Chris couldn’t be involved with his child. She would hope he would want that, but she won’t force it or chase him to do so.”

Sadly, the tipster adds:

“Out of spite or anger she doesn’t think he will even show up for the birth. But she will tell him when she goes into labor so he can make that decision.”

Watch Teen Mom 2 online to relive the bumpy road that brought Kailyn to her current situation.

View Slideshow: Kailyn Lowry: Timeline of a Turbulent Teen Mom Life

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Caitlyn Jenner: Abandoned by Kardashian Clan?!

Yesterday, Khloe Kardashian celebrated her 32nd birthday with a gathering of friends and family at Dave and Buster’s.

Kim and Kylie twerked; Rob buried the hatchet with his sister for the occasion; even Blac Chyna was in attendance.

But there was one member of the ever-expanding Kardashian-Jenner who was noticeably absent from the festivities.

Caitlyn Jenner was nowhere to be found, and it we’re guessing it’s not because as a former Olympian, she doesn’t get the same competitive thrill from skee-ball as the rest of the family.

In fact, Radar Online is reporting that it was always Khloe’s plan to snub Caitlyn, as the two of them just don’t get along these days.

If you watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians online, you know that the relationship between Caitlyn and Khloe has been more tense than ever this season.

Obviously, Caitlyn and Kris went their separate ways quite some time ago, but they still have two kids together, and this family tends to keep its exes in the fold.

It might actually be easier to resign from the Mafia than to leave the K-J clan.

So whether she likes it or not, Caitlyn is permanently involved in the lives of her ex and former stepkids.

Unfortunately, Khloe has the strongest personality in the lot, and she holds a good amount of sway over her mom and siblings.

So when someone has beef with Khloe, they have beef with the whole Kard crew, and now it looks as though Caitlyn is getting the cold shoulder from the entire family.

“She is lonelier than ever,” one insider tells Radar.

So she’ll never be able to fully free herself from Khloe and kompany, but Caitlyn is getting publicly snubbed at the same time.

It’s Kardashian purgatory, and we’re guessing it’s about as fun as it sounds.

View Slideshow: Caitlyn Jenner Photos: So Long, Bruce! What a Year!

Abandoned Newborns Offered Refuge In Boxes: Horrific Or Good Idea?

There are two schools of though when it comes to an issue such as thing: Does a certain solution alleviate the problem or perpetuate it?

A new way to protect newborns who have been abandoned by their mothers has launched in the United States.  

“Baby Hatches” which are common in parts of Europe and Asia, are like the idea behind “Baby Safe Haven,” except this one offers women total anonymity while still assuring the baby’s safety. 

The first of its kind in the states is located in Woodburn, Indiana, and funded by the state’s Knights of Columbus.

Each box costs between $ 1500 and $ 2000, and on the outside looks like any other.

Inside, however, is a padded, climate controlled container that will set off an alarm to first responders once the baby is placed inside.  

To add even more security, as soon as the parent “deposits” her child inside the box, it then locks and can’t be opened from the outside.

The idea is to prevent babies being abandoned in unsafe environments, like bathrooms, dumpsters and the like.

The second one in the country was placed in Michigan on May 5th.

Babies Switched at Birth, Reunited With Mothers 3 Weeks Later

Those opposed to the baby hatch idea claim that this will prevent new moms from seeking post-partum medical care or exploring other options, like going directly to a hospital.

Monica Kelsey was herself abandoned as an infant, and has been working to implement baby hatches for the past sixteen years.

This is not criminal,” Kelsey, who volunteers with a crisis hotline for mothers not wanting their babies, said.

“This is legal. We don’t want to push women away.”

It might sound like a startling idea at first, but the more options parents who can’t raise their children, the better.  

Some might liken it to providing drug users with clean needles.  Yes, it could certainly perpetuate the issue, but it also prevents the spread of diseases associated with using dirty needles.

Surrogate Mother Cares For Other Woman’s Twins

Tito Ortiz: Jenna Jameson Abandoned Our Twins

Ooof, this is a bit awkward.

TooFab tweeted an adorable photo of Tito Ortiz and his twins (mom is ex, Jenna Jameson) at the premiere of The Good Dinosaur, and it was all well and good until Jameson’s name was mentioned.

Hokay then!

“That is totally untrue,” Jameson told Toofab in response to the tweet.  “He has alienated me as a parent, and I am in court proceedings overturning his wrongful judgment.”

The former couple went through a very public split, which resulted in Ortiz getting full custody of their 6-year-old twins boys, Jesse and Journey in 2013.

Ortiz and the twins live with his girlfriend, Amber Nichole Miller in Huntington Beach, CA.

“We’re lucky,” Ortiz told the San Diego Tribune of Miller in 2014.  “She’s been amazing. She’s so caring. The boys love her, she has patience with them, and she teaches them. She makes me happy.”

In the same interview, Ortiz said that Jameson hadn’t seen their boys in over a year.

After accusing her of drug use in 2010 (which he claimed started during her pregnancy), Ortiz and Jameson went through hell, with Jameson claiming that Ortiz abused her (the charges were later dropped). 

For his part, Ortiz claims that he never hit her.

“That was probably the worst time of my life,” Ortiz recalled. “I was trying to defend my family and make sure my kids don’t live in a drug environment.”

Jameson recently appeared in Celebrity Big Brother UK alongside Farrah Abraham.

View Slideshow: 14 Stars Who Have Tried to Quit Twitter

Bette Midler: Jeremy Bieber is a D--k Who Abandoned His Son!!

Legendary actress Bette Midler is never one to mince words … even when it comes to unexpectedly weighing in on Justin Bieber’s penis.

Or, to be more specific, Bieber’s father’s reaction to the naked photos of Justin and Bieber’s massive junk that hit the Internet last week.

The 69-year-old icon weighed in on the controversy with a stinging response to a tweet sent out by the pop singer’s dad, Jeremy Bieber.

“@justinbieber what do you feed that thing,” a proud Jeremy Bieber tweeted on Friday in response to the pictures. “#proud daddy.”

Midler was not laughing. At all. Her Twitter response?

“.@justinbieber dad tweeted he’s proud of his son’s penis size. I think the biggest d–k in this situation is the dad who abandoned his son.”

Oooh, damn. She went there. Jeremy Bieber BURN.

Dumb as Jeremy’s response might be, and suspect as some of his past actions are, to be fair to the guy, he has a good relationship with Justin.

Bieber’s mom, Pattie Mallette, raised him as a single parent, but by all accounts, the young superstar has been pretty tight with his pops for years.

Also, Jeremy’s tweet has since been deleted and Justin’s legal team is far from pleased, threatening action against those who published the pics.

For his part, Justin has been mum on the topic, instead focusing on the release of his new album, Purpose and giving that anaconda some breathing room.

View Slideshow: Justin Bieber Naked: Twitter Reacts!