Kate Walsh Vs. Bristol Palin On Sex Talk

Kate Walsh wanted Bristol Palin to abstain... from talking about abstinence.

When the 'Private Practice' star heard that Palin was set to give a speech about abstaining from sex at Washington University in St. Louis, she sent out a tweet in support of students who had been protesting the planned talk all week:

Welcome to the Idiocracy! RT @elliekirsh: @katewalsh please join students at Wash.U. to boycott Bristol Palin's speech on abstinence. What does she know about college or abstaining?

Pressure from students ended up canceling the whole event, as The Huffington Post (via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) reported that Palin and the University agreed to call it off:

Scott Elman, president of the advisory committee, said the decision to halt Palin's appearance as a keynote speaker was "100 percent mutual" between Palin and the committee. Elman added that he was very disappointed that students weren't more open to having Palin speak.

The controversy doesn't quite tidy itself there -- conservatives lashed out at Walsh for her activism.

"This is just another page in the constantly developing story of how our nation's leading liberals - the supposedly open-minded folks - continue to betray the very idea of the university as a place where students are exposed to all sorts of ideas," Glenn Stanton, a spokesperson for Focus on the Family told Fox News. "We are finding that many of those on the left are the most rigid fundamentalists in culture today. They have it all figured out and have no patience for hearing an alternative voice."

For her part, Walsh didn't back down, responding to a criticism on Twitter:

I'm not attacking anyone, freedom to tw'eet. Isn't our country great? Or r YOU a communist? RT @Mark604YVR: @katewalsh @elliekirsh Why do you feel the need to attack this young lady? I'll boycott your mediocre show instead #FrustratedLiberalWomen

Comments

[dozaa]

12:51 PM on 03/27/2011

All right, Kate!

[Capn Scott]

01:54 PM on 03/21/2011

Damn! I'm late to this conversation.....

...But if it's a talk during 'sex week' about, say....the best sexual positions to get pregnant by, or ....how to have intercourse in a car, or ....how to stay warm in Alaska when you're having sex outside because you're underage and can't afford a motel room ....than apparently Bristol Palin would be your gal.

Abstinence? Not so much.

[Mollie Vandor]

05:45 PM on 02/08/2011

"When the 'Private Practice' star heard that Palin was set to give a speech about abstaining from sex at Washington University in St. Louis, she sent out a tweet in support of students who had been protesting the planned talk all week..." This is yet another reason why I love Kate Walsh.

[kritiktwee]

05:50 PM on 02/07/2011

Go ahead Bristol make some serious cash, while the issue of abstinence is still a hot topic.

[Bj Goode]

10:51 PM on 02/04/2011

bristol DID abstain from sex. she's still a virgin. her child is the antichrist implanted in her womb via immaculate conception by SATAN.

[Hammerofthor]

06:09 PM on 02/02/2011

Bristol Palin is the sexiest talker. Kate Walsh just isn't...well known.

[Pundit Commentator]

01:35 PM on 02/01/2011

To Palin defenders:

People are against paying Ms. Palin megabucks when she herself, has previously admitted, "abstinenc­e does not work". It does not seem smart to pay a teen mother who has made her name and fame from a single mistake in her life to go out and tell college kids NOT to do as she did. It seems somebody else who is not a living laughing stock might be a better choice to represent the abstinence position. That's all.

[sweety12783]

08:20 AM on 02/01/2011

Let's face it, Kate Walsh is right. Many people have manage to be sexually active and SURPRISE...not get pregnant until Bristol Palin. Maybe Bristol should take the time to learn about prevention and safe sex before she lectures others.

[al22]

10:04 PM on 02/12/2011

Exactly! It's very hypocritical of someone to admit they made a mistake and then talk to others about how they can prevent from making the same mistake.

Why would a college have someone come talk about abstinence during sex week anyway? It's like having a former drug addict coming in and talking about staying away from drugs. I don't blame the students for protesting - I wouldn't want to be forced to go to something like that either!

[John Cotton]

10:48 PM on 03/27/2011

See I totally agree that Bristol shouldn't be a spokesperson for abstinence for all of the reasons shown...but then you mentioned the drug addict comparison. I had been thinking of that, also.

If we usually have former addicts talk to kids to not make the same mistakes they made, and stay away from drugs...is it hypocritical to say Bristol Palin should not do the same. She is telling kids not to make the same mistake she made.

I feel conflicted...

[PrimeTyme]

01:06 AM on 02/01/2011

seriously.. how ironic would it have been to have BP come speak on two things she has no knowledge of...

she is going to speak to college kids & she hasnt attended college.. then she is going to be speaking on abstinence, and she is unwed teenage mother

maybe next that college can invite J.Biden to speak on the Issues of being a Modern Woman.. it makes as much sense

[woombie]

12:47 AM on 02/01/2011

I am sick and tired of people saying little innocent britol palin. Well she is not. She is just lk anyother person her age. I know girls her age are working, going to college, and not trying to get money out of people. Ladies at that college are not teenages. They know whats going on. They could give her a speech about facts of life. It is about time people telling her that they do not want to spend any more money on her. Go home Britol. Get your life togther and raise your son.

[Nigel Humphries]

12:01 AM on 02/01/2011

Why is anything to do with Bristol Palin on the the politics page? Can Huffpp notstart up a "fluff" section?

[dididangerlove]

11:59 PM on 01/31/2011

The entertainment report on CNN underscored Kate's original tweet, "Welcome to the Idiocracy". Joy Beher got it wrong, too. This isn't a free speech issue. If Bristol had wanted to speak for free, I doubt that Kate would have taken the time to tweet. She joined the chorus of students who didn't want to see their money given to someone who was chosen to speak only because she's a quasi-celebrity. There are other women out there who had babies while in their teens who would have added practical wisdom to the issue. Student money for Bristol Palin's comments? Talk about a redistribution of wealth...

[John Cotton]

10:50 PM on 03/27/2011

Awesome part at the end re 'distribution of wealth'

[mardar35]

11:06 PM on 01/31/2011

I don't think it has anything to do with liberals having an open mind (by the way, liberals by far are more open minded than conservatives). her comment was to point out that she (as well as i) really don't think that the students want to be taught abstinence from someone who had a child at 17 years of age.

that would be like hitler giving a speech on tolerance....it just doesn't fit.

[dessertsfirst]

09:45 PM on 01/31/2011

Maybe that's the only way that Bristol would be able to say she went to college... LOL

[callmemara]

11:30 AM on 02/10/2011

fanned

[goingstrong]

08:06 PM on 01/31/2011

oh this is such a "in your face'' moment for Bristol i-think-im-a-celebrity-cos-my-moms-sarah-psycho-palin-and-i-was-on-dancing-with-the-stars Palin...may there be MANY more to come