A motivational speaker who was supposed to give an inspiring address to high school students instead sparked ire centered on his website with dating tips.
Justin Lookadoo, a Christian speaker and author of two books on dating, recently addressed students at Richardson High School in Texas, the Blaze reported.
"Dateable girls know how to shut up. They don't monopolize the conversation," Lookadoo wrote. "They don't tell everyone everything about themselves. They save some for later. They listen more than they gab."
In the address, Lookadoo promoted stereotypical differences between the sexes, saying that girls are nastier to each other than boys are and that men are stronger than women.
Students and parents reportedly complained even before Lookadoo spoke, but school officials still allowed the address to take place. Richardson officials apologized Wednesday for anyone offended by the speech, the Dallas Morning News reported.
"RHS and RISD approve of the broad messages shared with students related to self-empowerment and dating violence but do not support some of the terminology used by the speaker to generalize student behaviors," the school's statement said.
While some of Lookadoo's comments drew applause from students and parents, he was also heckled in the auditorium and on Twitter, where students gave the speaker his own hashtag, #lookadouche.
Most of Lookadoo's address to the students focused on girls, according to the Morning News. When he spoke about girls, he talked about relationships; however, when the topic switched to boys, the focus was on achievements, the outlet reported.
Girls are their own worst enemies, he said.
"The reason it's so hard for you to succeed these days is not because of guys," he said, "You're doing it to yourselves."
Several students reportedly came up to Lookadoo afterward to object to his speech.
"I've done about 4,000 programs. That's never happened," Lookadoo told WFAA about the negative reaction.
Jennifer Richman, mother of a freshman, summed it up.
"He definitely was motivational," she said. "He enraged a lot of kids."
Here are some of the tweets inspired by Lookadoo's address:
"i make my living on telling 13 year old girls to shut up" - #lookadouche
— ♛ DJ Cateye ♛ (@djcateye) November 14, 2013
Walking out, I refuse to listen to the enforcement of stereotypes and gender roles. #lookadouche — Aisleen Menezes (@aisleenmenezes) November 13, 2013
.@JustinLookadoo, I'm stuck outside. Can I open the door myself, or do I need to wait for a man to do it for me? #LetGuysLead #Lookadouche
— ChynnaBlue (@ChynnaBlue5) November 14, 2013
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
