Stars are emphatically voicing their disgust with Gov. Rick Perry as the Texas Republican pushes for severely restrictive abortion legislation. After Perry jabbed Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) -- who filibustered for 11 hours to prevent the bill from being passed --- as a woman who should "have learned from her own example," John Legend let off a simple, harsh tweet.
"They still let Rick Perry talk?" the signer tweeted. Perry pointed to the fact that Davis was "the daughter of a single woman" and "a teenage mother herself" who "managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School" as proof that "every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential." Davis' filibuster, which captured the nation's attention on Tuesday, kept the session from passing S.B. 5, which restricts access to abortions.
Legend was hardly the only celebrity to weigh in. Sarah Silverman reportedly tweeted -- and then deleted -- some damning criticism of Perry. "Governor Perry thought 'What is the world coming to?!' when news of the failure of S.B. 5 reached him at N----RHEAD RANCH," Silverman posted (the tweet has now been deleted, but RedState.com has screenshots).
Silverman was referencing "N----rhead Ranch," the historic name of Rick Perry's family's hunting ranch. During the election cycle, everyone from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to Perry's GOP rival Herman Cain criticized Perry when news of the ranch's name broke. Silverman herself performed a "Live From N----rhead" comedy show.
The comedian has taken a hard line in further tweets which have not been deleted:
Davis herself also responded to Perry's comments. "Rick Perry's statement is without dignity and tarnishes the high office he holds," she said. "They are small words that reflect a dark and negative point of view. Our governor should reflect our Texas values. Sadly, Gov. Perry fails that test."
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