Hollywood producer Dustin Lance Black
says he'll respond to critics of gay parenting with “an example of
strength and love.”
On Valentine's Day, Black and his
husband, Olympic diver Tom Daley, shared the news that they were
having a baby.
The couple posted a photo of themselves
on Instagram and Twitter holding an ultrasound image of their child
with the caption “HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! [heart emoji, two-dad
family emoji, heart emoji]”
The couple met in 2013 and married last
May.
(Related: Tom
Daley, Dustin Lance Black marry at Bovey Castle in England.)
The couple's decision to start a family
was panned by some users on social media. Daily Mail
columnist Richard Littlejohn also criticized the couple, asking
readers to “pass the sick bag” and claiming that gay parenting
was “not normal.”
LGBT rights advocate GLAAD responded
with a call for advertisers to pull their advertising from the Daily
Mail over the column's publication.
The Daily Mail has defended
Littlejohn, stating that it is not “homophobic to ask whether it is
right to deny a child the love of its own mother.”
“It is very sad that any advertiser
should give way to bullying by a tiny group of politically motivated
internet trolls in their attempts to censor newspapers with which
they disagree,” the paper said in a statement.
Black responded to the couple's critics
in an Instagram post.
“My reaction to others' hate, bigotry
& misinformation will not include anger or hate,” he captioned
a photo of the couple swimming, their arms extended to form the shape
of a heart. “For me, the path forward is lit with curiosity,
listening, correcting the record when possible, and as best I can,
leading with an example of strength & love.”