Celebrity is a double-edged sword, at best — the money and recognition comes with so much scrutiny. When you’re a celebrity parent, that sword becomes something with even more edges, maybe more like a ninja star? (Sorry, we’re not weapons experts.) Picture all the shaming and unsolicited advice we normals receive as parents, magnified by the social media audience of a Kim Kardashian.
From vegans following Chrissy Teigen to parenting authorities monitoring Pink’s car seat mishaps, social media users are out there ready to slam celeb moms and dads any time they either screw up or look like they maybe possibly could screw up. Heaven forbid Shay Mitchell try to have fun after giving birth! Don’t tell us that Hilary Duff is feeding her daughter in the wrong position! And is that Real Housewife’s daughter wearing a bathing suit at the beach? Someone do something about it!
It’s easy to forget that celebrity parents are like every other parent trying to do what’s best for their children and, sometimes, getting it wrong or becoming a victim of a society that rushes to judgment. All this pearl-clutching is honestly exhausting to read through at once, but we recommend this exercise once in a while as an excellent dose of humility for the next time we even think about criticizing someone else for their parenting decisions.
We also like to turn to these incidents to gather the strength, vicariously, from the likes of Kourtney Kardashian and Cardi B. The next time someone opens their mouth about how we’re raising our kids, they’d better watch out.
A version of this story was originally published in July 2016.
Cardi B
The hip-hop star has made a living being controversial, and of course motherhood just added to the chorus of critics. First up, the shamers were on her case for having long nails after giving birth to daughter Kulture. But Cardi B won’t back down, and she told Vogue that her words of advice to her daughter are, “Don’t worry what people say. And to dream big and follow it.”
Chrissy Teigen
The TV host, chef, and social-media queen says she often gets shamed for car seats and having the TV on, but above all else, people like to slam her for feeding meat to Luna and Miles. “Any time I post a picture of them holding ribs or eating sausage, I get a lot of criticism,” Teigen told Today Parents. “Vegans and vegetarians are mad and feel that we are ‘forcing’ meat upon them at a young age. They freak out.”
Pink
Pink has brought out the mom-shamers on multiple occasions over the course of her two children’s lives — for not having daughter Willow buckled into her seat properly, for posting a photo in which son Jameson is naked, and other trivial matters. We’re big fans of the way she met the shamers with one post showing Willow running through the sprinklers in 2019: “Here’s a picture of my child running through water. It wasn’t even filtered. What a waste of water. And no helmet? I hope she had sunscreen. If she slips and falls she may be traumatized for life. And her mother wasn’t even there. I was….. gasp…. working!!!! In another country!”
Shay Mitchell
Backseat parents slammed the actor for going to Drake’s birthday party three days after she gave birth to daughter Atlas. Who else thinks they were just jealous about their invitation getting lost in the mail? “I’m going to do what feels right,” Mitchell told SheKnows of her approach to parenting. “And that’s the messaging that I want to say to anybody: Do what feels right. This is your experience. Nobody else is living it. And that’s all that matters.”
Shawn Johnson
After observers judged that daughter Drew “always looks cold” in her photos, the Olympian made a preemptive move against other haters in another post, a video of herself dancing with her baby girl. “My favorite.. dancing with my girl @drewhazeleast,” Johnson wrote. “(yessss mommy shamers… I am sure there is something I am doing very wrong 🙄)”
Meghan Markle
Since the moment she started dating Prince Harry, people have felt they had the absolute right to scrutinize Markle, and that only got worse after she had baby Archie. The worst example came from best-selling author Emily Giffin, who took to Instagram to slam the video Markle made (for charity) reading a book to her son.
Amy Schumer
Two weeks after Schumer gave birth to baby Gene, she was back onstage, and randos were not happy about it. “Ugh why are you working so soon?!” one commenter wrote. Another joked, “Like, I can still smell your placenta. Take a damn break FFS.” Schumer was kind of excited about this response, writing, “I’ve always wanted to be mom-shamed!!!!”
Ashley Graham
Model and podcast host Graham shared an embarrassing moment when she had to change baby Isaac’s diaper in the middle of a Staples — a disaster many a city mom has experienced before. People, including Wendy Williams, were disgusted. So maybe next time they see that happening they can offer to help?
Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wade
Before Wade’s daughter Zaya came out as transgender, her dad and stepmom came out swinging to defend her self-expression. “Stupidity is a part of this world we live in—so i get it,” Wade wrote in response to trolls in 2019. “But here’s the thing—I’ve been chosen to lead my family not y’all. So we will continue to be us and support each other with pride, love & a smile!”
Kourtney Kardashian
The Kardashian sister is constantly hearing about one thing or another she’s supposedly doing wrong while taking care of her three children. One thing we hate is how often people tell her to cut son Reign’s hair. “Most gorgeous hair on Earth. Anyone who says otherwise ABCDEFG,” she told one snarky commenter.
Hilary Duff
The actor has been on the receiving end of shame for how she breastfeeds and even kisses her children, among other totally normal things. “I just saw a comment on my Instagram that was like, ‘Were you feeding your child solids while she was laying down?’” Duff shared with Glamour. “I’m like, ‘You know what, I’m going to feed my daughter how I want to feed my daughter. And if that’s laying down, or hanging upside down because it works for her, we’re gonna do it.’”
Jessa Duggar Seewald & Ben Sewald
If you’re going to be the sort of parents who have the audacity to enjoy themselves at a coffee shop once in a while, the least you can do is teach your baby to sit in a chair properly — at least that’s what the parenting police thought when Jessa posted a sweet photo of husband Ben hanging out with baby Spurgeon. People were quick to point out that you shouldn’t let a baby nap in his or her car seat because doing so puts them at risk for getting entangled in the straps, which can restrict their airway and lead to death. Their baby is sitting right by Dad’s side, where he can keep an eye on him while sipping a latte.
Gisele Bündchen
Bündchen managed to anger moms by making statements about how breastfeeding should be a law in the United States and how “a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals.” When the supermodel posted a glam shot of herself breastfeeding her baby while getting all dolled up for a photo shoot, many criticized her for not living in the real world — and they took offense to the idea that they, too, should be expected to nurse as frequently and effortlessly.
Bethenny Frankel
Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel thought fitting into her 4-year-old daughter’s pajamas was hilarious — so she posted a photo of herself on Instagram wearing her child’s Hello Kitty PJs and slippers. Little did she know the image would result in a mountain of accusations about her suffering from an eating disorder and harming her child by passing on her so-called negative views of women’s bodies. The Skinnygirl entrepreneur shot back at critics with her own follow-up message: “When ur 4 year old peanut says ‘mommy please put my dress on’ giggles uncontrollably, u do what ur told.”
Jenni “JWoww” Farley
Jersey Shore’s Jenni “JWoww” Farley had a bit of fun with her sexy image by dolling up her baby girl to look just like mama — complete with fake breasts, a wig, glasses and ironic T-shirt. Cue the trolls, who found the image offensive and declared it inappropriate.
“It was a joke and in good fun so she can laugh when she’s older,” she wrote later. “Honestly shut the fuck up and mind UR business. I would love bitches to say this to my face.”
Kim Kardashian West
Kardashian has probably lost count of all the various things she’s been mom-shamed for, but she gets the most reactions every time eldest daughter North wears something deemed “grownup” like lipstick or hoop earrings. “Dress your kid according to her age. This is sooo not ok. Hoops seriously?” one follower asked her last fall. She did not grace them with an answer.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
Back in 2015, Lively sent her husband a Father’s Day message with the hilarious caption, “Since the day our baby was born I felt so strongly in my heart that you were most likely the father.” But rather than laugh, some people had to focus on the way the baby is positioned in her carrier in the pic. Their go-to comments: This looks “uncomfortable and unsafe,” and “it can cause hip problems.”
Mayim Bialik
The actor was very open about the fact that she breastfed her kids for a long time, and penned a thoughtful and funny essay for Kveller about what it’s like to nurse a toddler (even on the New York City subway). Even so, the criticism Bialik got for it, from tabloids and commenters, was hurtful. “Just because you do something your way doesn’t mean you can judge people who don’t,” she told InTouch. “I don’t think I’m a better mom and my kids aren’t necessarily better off than yours.”
Alyssa Milano
Milano has been honest about her struggles trying to nurse her first child and kept her cool when Wendy Williams criticized her breastfeeding photo in 2014, saying, “I don’t need to see that.” Williams was echoing many of the comments she’d received on Instagram. Milano’s response: “Why is it OK to show that picture of Miley Cyrus with two suspenders over her breasts? Biologically, they’re not made for sexual things. That’s what we’ve done to them.”
Jenelle Evans
The Teen Mom 2 alumna posted a sweet photo of her son on Twitter in 2014, writing, “Stays with a bottle in his mouth even in his sleep.” Parents were quick to point out that this practice is bad for his teeth, accusing her of hurting her child and shoving “a bottle in his mouth when he makes the slightest little peep.” Yeesh.
Jill Duggar Dillard & Derick Dillard
When the Dillards shared a photo of 10-month-old son Israel, people were alarmed by the appearance of a small bruise on his forehead. “Someone needs to call C.P.S. have them come out and interview this family. Something is wrong with a child having new bruises on him every week.” Never mind that most new crawlers and walkers get banged up like this all the time.
Macklemore
In 2015, when Macklemore posted a photo of himself sleeping next to tightly swaddled baby Sloane Ava Simone Haggerty, everyone was concerned for her safety. You can’t co-sleep with a swaddled baby! Why are there blankets on the bed! Never mind that there is obviously someone else in the room taking the photo.
Teresa Giudice
Hard to believe, but some people think the Real Housewives of New Jersey star isn’t an angel! After sharing a proud picture of her daughter Gabriella’s fifth-grade graduation on Instagram, Giudice was hit with some pretty nasty comments in response to her daughter’s outfit choice. Several commenters took offense to the 11-year-old’s “short” dress and shamed her mom for letting her sport it to graduation.
Farrah Abraham
After posting a photo of her daughter wearing a bikini in a photoshoot, the Teen Mom OG star took a hit from nasty “fans” who had a problem with 6-year-old Sophia’s bathing suit. One commenter even suggested that child services get involved and “take her child away for sexualizing her in this manner.”
Sydney Leroux
After soccer star Leroux posted a photo of herself tubing on a lake while pregnant, commenters bashed her for putting her baby in “danger.” Some even went so far as to say things like, “You gonna kill that baby,” and, “There’s no way her baby is still living after she did this.” Leroux was not very happy about the mass pregnancy input from her followers, following up with a post asking them to, “Leave your awful comments to yourself and let me enjoy MYSELF and MY body the way I want to.”
Kristin Cavallari
When Cavallari posted a photo of her boys celebrating July 4, viewers somehow decided that her boys were too skinny. Commenters accused the Laguna Beach alum of starving her kids, saying they are “very obviously nutritionally deficient” and that she should “look into feeding [her] babies.” The outspoken reality-TV star shot down the outrageous accusations, commenting, “Yep, I starve my children. Just blocked the most people I’ve ever blocked in my entire life. Happy 4th hahaha.”
Leah Messer
Messer took on the feat of traveling across the country with her three young children. All. By. Herself. Messer snapped this cute picture of 6-year-old twins Aliannah Hope Simms and Aleeah Grace Simms, and 3-year-old Adalynn Faith Calvert, at the airport. Still, critics decided that Messer had done something wrong, writing, “Really? Addie is still in a stroller? After three kids you have zero parenting skills, must be a West Virginia thing. I feel sorry for those kids.”
Melissa Gorga
Gorga shared a pic of 10-year-old daughter, Antonia, in a totally age-appropriate bikini, and some viewers flipped out. Some said she was inviting predators by allowing her daughter to wear such a thing.
Coco Austin
Ice-T’s wife shared a photo of her postpartum body in which she said she gained only 13 lbs. while pregnant with daughter Chanel. There was an outcry of course, but if we’re not shaming moms for gaining weight during pregnancy, we need to offer Austin the same courtesy.
Jason Momoa
When Jason Momoa took his children, 9-year-old Lola and 8-year-old Nakoa Wolf, to see his favorite band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Instagram followers had a problem with was a picture of Lola posing next to a seemingly naked Flea. “How is this cool? Your kid is next to a fucking naked man,” wrote one.
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