Kate & Oliver Hudson: Why They Won’t Drop Their Last Name After Dad’s Slam

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After Kate Hudson and her brother, Oliver, became entangled in a bitter family feud with their estranged dad, Bill Hudson, early last week, fans started wondering why the actors never dropped their dad’s last name, when he first abandoned them decades ago. Well, here’s why.

So sad! Kate Hudson, 36, and her brother, Oliver, 38, are currently in a VERY public war with their biological father, musician Bill Hudson, 65. After Oliver posted an Instagram photo on Father’s Day with the caption “Happy abandonment day… @katehudson,” showing a photo of Kate and himself as kids with their father, it ignited a massive family feud. So if Kate and Oliver don’t like their father, why keep his last name? We’ve got the EXCLUSIVE scoop!

“Kate and Oliver had considered changing their last name years ago to Hawn or Russell, but then their careers took off and they chose not to,” an insider told HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. “Part of them regrets not changing their names now, but it probably won’t happen at this time in their lives.”

Such a sad situation all around. After Bill heard about Oliver’s Instagram post, he did an interview with the Daily Mail and fired a scathing shot back at Oliver and Kate.“That was like a dagger to the heart. If what he wanted was me out of their lives, then he’s succeeded,” Bill said in the interview. “I don’t want to see either of my eldest children ever again. It’s over.”

While Bill may be their biological father, it seems he hasn’t been around for a long time. “Kate and Oliver’s reaction to Bill’s comments was surprisingly mild. To them, their father has been pretty much dead to them for decades. They feel like he abandoned them early on and wanted nothing to do with them until they were famous in their own right. Then, he started making money by selling stories and writing a book about Kate and Oliver. He’s hurt them immeasurably over and over again for most of their lives, so his recent comments barely made a dent. It was like a stranger was making these remarks and it certainly didn’t surprise them,” a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY.

So, HollywoodLifers — Let us know your thoughts on this family feud! Whose side are you on?

— Joey Parker, Reporting by Tim Plant