Dog the Bounty Hunter Addresses Racism Allegations, Use of N-Word: 'I Thought I Had a Pass'

"I have more Black friends than Eminem," Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman insisted during a recent interview

Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman is addressing allegations that he is racist and homophobic — and answering some tough questions about his choice of words.

On Wednesday, the A&E star, 68, denied the accusations made against him, including from his daughter, during an interview with Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier.

"I have never been a racist. I'm 33 1/2 percent Apache," Chapman told Frazier, who is Black. The Dog the Bounty Hunter star previously faced backlash over his use of racist language during a taped phone call with his son — which included his use of the N-word over six times — that was made public in the National Enquirer in 2007.

When asked by Frazier why he used the racial slurs during Wednesday's interview, he said: "I thought I had a pass in the Black tribe to use it, kind of like Eminem," adding that he has an "Achilles heel."

Dog the Bounty Hunter. Ilya S. Savenok/Getty

"I had just gotten out of prison in 1979 after spending 18 months in Texas, and it was probably three-quarters from the Black tribe," Chapman explained. "So, that was a word that we used back and forth as maybe a compliment. My pass expired for using it, but no one told me that. To say a racist name doesn't qualify to make you a racist."

Beth Chapman and Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman. Duane Dog Chapman/Instagram

Frazier pushed back on Chapman's explanation, telling him, "If you use that word, and you use it in your regular every day life, it makes you a racist."

"I have more Black friends than Eminem," Chapman insisted, to which Frazier replied: "That is the proximity argument. 'I have lots of Black friends, so that should make me okay with Black people.' "

During the conversation, Chapman also denied accusations that he is homophobic, saying: "I have three people on my staff that are gay men. My daughter [Lyssa] is gay. I don't understand why anybody would ever say that."

"I hear what you're saying, but remember proximity does not mean that you are not racist or homophobic," Frazier interjected.

"Would I die for a gay man or a Black man? I'd lay down my life," an emotional Chapman asserted.

RELATED VIDEO: Dog the Bounty Hunter's Daughter Bonnie Accuses Him of Racism and Homophobia amid Wedding Drama

After his phone call with his son was made public in 2007, Chapman apologized for using insensitive language.

"My sincerest, heartfelt apologies go out to every person I have offended for my regrettable use of very inappropriate language," he said in part. "I am deeply disappointed in myself for speaking out of anger to my son and using such a hateful term in a private phone conversation."

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His A&E show Dog the Bounty Hunter was put on hiatus in the aftermath; production resumed the following year. The show concluded in 2012 after eight seasons.

Chapman's interview comes one day before he is expected to tie the knot with his fiancée Francie Frane. He first revealed his relationship with Frane, a 52-year-old rancher from Colorado, in March 2020. The romance came almost 10 months after his wife Beth Chapman, who was diagnosed with stage II throat cancer in 2017, died in June 2019 at the age of 51. (Frane also lost her late husband Bob to cancer.)