Huckabee: I Didn't Slam Natalie Portman

Antigay presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is now backtracking on comments he made about unwed mother-to-be Natalie Portman, saying he has nothing but respect for single mothers and that Natalie is a fantastic actress.

"People see a Natalie Portman who boasts, 'We're not married, but we're having these children and they're doing just fine," Huckabee told radio host Michael Medved on his show Monday. "I think it gives a distorted image. It's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of-wedlock children."

Even though Portman is engaged to the father, choreographer Benjamin Millepied, he called her pregnancy "troubling" and said most single mothers don't have the resources to raise a baby without help.

"Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care," he said. "And that's the story that we're not seeing."

But Friday, Huckabee explained on his blog that the Hollywood media had twisted his words to make it seem like he was slamming the actress and other women who have babies out of wedlock.

I was asked about Oscar winner Natalie Portman's out-of-wedlock pregnancy," he explained on his blog, Huck PAC. "Natalie is an extraordinary actor, very deserving of her recent Oscar and I am glad she will marry her baby's father. However, contrary to what the Hollywood media reported, I did not 'slam' or 'attack' Natalie Portman, nor did I criticize the hardworking single mothers in our country."

In 2007, Huckabee applauded Britney Spears's little sister Jamie Lynn for deciding to keep her baby. She was just 16 years old at the time.

"Apparently, she's going to have the child, and I think that is the right decision, a good decision, and I respect that and appreciate it," he said. "I hope it is not an encouragement to other 16-year-olds who think that is the best course of action. But at the same time I'm not going to condemn her. It's a tragedy when a 16-year-old who is not really prepared for all the responsibilities of adult life is going to be now faced with all the responsibilities of honest-to-goodness adult life."