Willow Palin Sarah Palin's teenage daughter has stirred up a storm by using homophobic abuse against a schoolmate who slammed her mother's new reality TV show. Sixteen-year-old Willow Palin called the boy "so gay" and "a faggot" when he wrote on his Facebook wall, that the Sarah Palin's Alaska was "failing hard". Her older sister Bristol also weighed in. Gossip website TMZ.com picked up on it, which The Canadian Press reports has raised questions not just about why the media spotlight so often shines upon the unelected children of political families, but also about the role of social media in modern-day politics. Bristol Palin later apologised on her Facebook wall, saying "Willow and I shouldn't have reacted to negative comments about our family." Dallas Lawrence, managing director of digital public affairs at Burson-Marsteller, one of the world's biggest public relations firm, agrees that it's unfair for the media to put children and teens under the glare of publicity simply because of their famous parents. But he argued their mother is largely to blame. "Sarah Palin opened the door for media scrutiny of her family" he told the Star. "You can't ask for anonymity or privacy out of one side of your mouth while at the same time having a reality show, a book, Fox News appearances and one of your other daughters on Dancing With The Stars. She invited this attention, and it's ultimately up to her to make sure her family is ready for prime time."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 18th November 2010 - 5:28pm