MARCO ISLAND, FLORIDA: Duane Chapman, also known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, is garnering attention for all the wrong reasons. The reality TV star had previously led a reasonably quiet life with his wife Francie Frane but is now facing backlash after going on a homophobic rampage. In an interview with Sharell Barrera, the founder of an online Christian ministry, 70-year-old Duane bashed the LGBTQ+ community and held people who don't "go out and be the church" responsible for "kids changing their sexuality," on Tuesday, July 11, as per Page Six.
It goes without saying that Duane immediately received criticism for his remarks towards the LGBTQ+ community. Previously, Duane has been accused of being homophobic and racist by Bonnie Joanne Chapman, the daughter he had with his late wife Beth Chapman. The following month, he denied his daughter's charges, asserting that Bonnie had "been fed what to say."
Are any of Dog the Bounty Hunter's children gay?
Duane Lee Chapman, aka Dog, is the father of 13 kids, all of whom he had from six different relationships. Duane and his third wife Lyssa Rae Brittain share a daughter Lyssa Rae Chapman, born in Colorado in 1987. She started her own apparel business named BABY by Lyssa Chapman. Dog's daughter Lyssa Chapman is openly gay and married her longtime partner Leiana Evensen in June 2022 on a beach in Hawaii.
Although Lyssa's half-sister Bonnie has accused her father, who has been married to Francie Frane since September 2021, of homophobia, Lyssa told People that Duane entirely supports her and Leiana's relationship. Lyssa explained at the time, "My dad's always just loved me and it's not been something we talk about. I think it's really hard for people who are Christian and do have that belief that marriage belongs to a man and a woman. But when your daughter falls in love with someone and you love that person, you can't just say you don't believe in it."
However, things changed after Dog's recent rant against the LGBTQ+ community surfaced. According to Daily News, the 'Dog's Most Wanted' star claimed to have LGBTQ+ friends and relatives, but added that they "need to be saved." Lyssa, one of them, expressed her embarrassment at Chapman's tirade. She said, "I’m honestly embarrassed to be mentioned on this hateful, disgusting, trash spewing out of my father’s mouth. You all know I’m a daddy’s girl and I love my father. However, this crosses a line. I was not raised by this man, he was not this way until recently."
'My father's progression into his old racist ways'
Bonnie stated in a Facebook post made in August 2021 that she was denied an invitation to Duane and Frane's wedding as a result of her "choice to participate in social justice and [Black Lives Matter] protests with ‘The System’" and not "condemn the streaming platform when they fired my father for using epithets."
Bonnie, 24, stated, "I have expressed time and time again my ever-growing disappointment in my father’s progression into his old racist ways. I had forgiven my father after my mother’s death for countless actions that I shouldn’t have." According to Bonnie, her father "associated himself with people like right-wing megachurch pastor Greg Locke, who mock-crucified his own son for religious propaganda and spews hate toward LGBTQ people almost constantly in his social media."
Bonnie continued by alleging that her father had adopted "old prejudices," calling BLM protestors "thugs" and using "horrific epithets" targeted at LGBTQ people. She further condemned him for being friends with people like Greg Locke, who made headlines for telling parishioners at his church that they would be expelled if they wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and has posted homophobic material on social media.
Following the post, Lyssa Chapman, Bonnie's half-sister, defended Dog on Twitter. Bonnie was allegedly "indoctrinated" by Dog's old business colleagues, said Lyssa, Dog's openly gay daughter.
'They're so wacko themselves'
In the July 11 interview, the 'Dog's Most Wanted' star attacked the LGBTQ+ community, saying, "They're so wacko themselves that where they have brought us all is to the gates of hell. So we have to stop all that, rebuke them."
After that, Duane talked about Pride Month and companies like Target, which allegedly lost $9 billion as a result of anger over its Pride goods. He made fun of them, saying that "people that are lost like that" "need to be saved" because "all these guys that are backing those jokers up are taking billion-dollar beatings, they're falling."
The bounty hunter also accepted having LGBTQIA+ family members and acquaintances, but he emphasized that "that's not the way God made us." He added, "He didn't make Adam and Steve, he made Adam and Eve. So, that's exactly how it is."
