Getty Images A "Real Housewives" star spoke out on behalf of her dad.
A “Real Housewives” star is responding to backlash caused after people saw her father sitting down during the National Anthem at an NFL game.
It all started back on November 10, 2022, when Andy Cohen sent out a tweet asking for fans to send in questions for him to ask Teddi Mellencamp and her dad John Mellencamp who were set to appear on “Watch What Happens Live.”
According to the former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, several people had noticed that her dad didn’t stand during the National Anthem and wanted to know why. In response, she shared a statement on social media and promised to address it further on her “Two T’s in a Pod” podcast.
“My dad has not stood for the national anthem since I can remember, but he never once told me I couldn’t. Coming of age in an era of love and peace, he believes it to be a war song. Instead, he views Woody Guthrie this land is your land as a substitute anthem. He’s been to countless games and never stood for the anthem once. He loves his country as much as anybody, but as this is the land of the free, it’s his right to not stand for something he considers to be a war anthem,” Mellencamp said in a statement posted to her Instagram Stories.
On the November 21, 2022, episode of “Two T’s in a Pod,” Teddi talked more in depth about the apparent controversy.
Here’s what you need to know:
Teddi Reiterated That Her Father Has Pretty Much Never Stood for the National Anthem
Teddi explained that her dad didn’t have any intentions of addressing his decision to sit down for the National Anthem, but she wanted to address it because she felt that it would end up being a bigger news story at some point.
“I can already feel… it’s about to go bananas,” Teddi said on “Two T’s in a Pod.”
“I know he doesn’t talk to the press and stuff like that. And I just, I don’t know, I feel like I don’t want people to have the perception that he wasn’t doing it because he was being lazy,” Teddi explained. She then went on to read the statement that she shared on social media.
“I’m simply saying this because I’m passing along the way that he feels about something,” Teddi said. “This is something he’s always done,” she continued.
Teddi’s “Two T’s in a Pod” co-host Tamra Judge said that Teddi doesn’t owe anyone an explanation, regardless of what people might be saying.
Teddi Said Her Dad Wasn’t a Fan of Her Outfit on WWHL
In addition to addressing her father’s decision to sit during the National Anthem, Teddi also talked about some other behind-the-scenes moments that she shared with her dad backstage before WWHL.
“So when I walk out, he immediately looks at me and is like, ‘you’re gonna wear that? I can see your legs,'” Teddi told Judge.
After WWHL, Teddi and her dad went to dinner and he told her that she needed to “change” her clothes. When Teddi said she didn’t really have anything to change into, he suggested wearing her sweats — which she ended up doing.
“It’s as if I’m 12-years-old,” Teddi said. “The second ‘Watch What Happens Live’ ended, he’s like, ‘nope, you’re changing,'” she added.
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