Duane “Dog” Chapman is in hot water after a tone-deaf interview with Entertainment Tonight where he claimed that he had “a pass” to use the n-word slur. In the interview, the Dog the Bounty Hunter star addressed the fact that his daughter, Bonnie, was not invited to his upcoming wedding to fianceé Francie Fine. According to reports, Bonnie accused him of being racist and homophobic, as well as unfaithful to Beth Chapman, his late wife and Bonnie’s mother.
“As hard as it is and as heartbreaking as it is, we had to make a decision that was very difficult for us,” Frane told ET. “We’ve been through hell, him and I, in the past three years. …And I am not going to allow our day to be ruined by this nonsense.” Chapman also addressed Bonnie’s allegations that he was racist. “I have never been a racist,” Dog claimed. “I’m 33.5 percent Apache. But because of over 15 years ago, I have an Achilles’ heel because I used the wrong word.”
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In 2007, Chapman’s show was canceled by A&E after he went on a racist rant about his son’s girlfriend at the time and used the n-word several times. “I thought I had a pass in the Black tribe to use it, kind of like Eminem,” Chapman told ET. Interviewer Kevin Frazier asked who gave him “the pass,” and Chapman replied “the brothers.” After Frazier followed up and asked for more specifics, Chapman claimed that he got “the pass” in prison.
“I had just gotten out of prison in 1979 after spending time, 18 months in Texas and it was probably three-fourths from the Black tribe. So that was a word that we used back and forth, as maybe a compliment,” Chapman said. “My pass expired for using it but no one told me that.”
“To say a racist name doesn’t qualify to make you a racist,” Chapman argued, but Frazier held his ground, saying, “If you use that word, if you use it in your regular everyday life, it makes you a racist.” Chapman also addressed Bonnie’s allegations that he’s homophobic, citing his relationship with his daughter, Lyssa. “She’s been fed what to say,” he said. “I have three men on my staff that are gay. My daughter is gay, Baby Lyssa. I don’t understand why anybody would ever say that.”
Chapman went on to claim that he would “lay down” his life “for a gay man or a black man” and argued that Bonnie had been “brainwashed.” Allegedly, the drama began after Chapman’s upcoming show Dog Unleashed was dropped by Unleashed TV, although Bonnie is still with the production company. Unleashed TV said in a statement to ET that Chapman “used racial and homophobic epithets to attack young African American kids who star with his daughter in UTV’s The System, a show that profiles police misconduct and follows protests against white supremacy in policing.”
“As far as the idea that I’m being brainwashed, this is the dumbest thing my father has ever said,” Bonnie said in a statement. “I didn’t believe he would go this far to discredit me so much as to say I was brainwashed. I am concerned about him. He has begun to believe crazy conspiracy theories. The only credibility my dad has to speak about brainwashing is perhaps as a victim.”
