"I'm Not Going To Apologize For Feeding My Child": 17 Famous Women Who Faced Outrageous Mom-Shaming
Last week, Sophie shared pics of a ski trip with rumored boyfriend Peregrine Pearson on Instagram — a few months after Joe Jonas filed for divorce. Though her ex has seemingly moved on too, she faced mom-shaming that accused her of forgetting about her kids.
But Sophie's fans called out the misogyny in the comments, with one person writing, "You guys realize as a woman that we have an identity outside of having our children right?"
In 2019, the actor shared an adorable black-and-white pic on Instagram of herself and her daughter smiling. When people noticed that the 8-month-old had pierced ears, tons of hate rolled in, with one commenter, via Today, going as far as calling it "child abuse."
While Hilary didn't respond in the moment, she referenced all the drama two years later. After she had her second daughter's ears pierced, she shared a pic on her Instagram story, writing, "Yes ! I pierced her ears today. Can't wait for the internet to call me a child abuser....again lesss go."
On a 2020 episode of Red Table Talk, the actor, who has three children, shared that she faced intense shaming over the amount of weight she gained during pregnancy. "I’ve had to do a lot of therapy," she said.
"Certainly now that I’m almost 40, I’ve come to this place where I realize that most people who have something to say, it’s because they’re so insecure, and it’s more of them being ashamed of themselves, them being overly critical. And for whatever reason, the natural reaction is to pull other people apart for them to feel justified or them to feel okay."
In 2020, the model shared a special moment on Instagram: the first time she breastfed in public. People criticized the "lack of modesty," with one commenter writing, "Put a blanket of some kind on to conceal your breasts so the majority of people don't have to feel uncomfortable seeing a half-naked woman in public."
In 2022, Ashley welcomed twins. She shared a pic of herself holding one baby while breastfeeding the other, and once again, she faced a ton of mom-shaming. Shortly after, she posted a video with the caption, "i'm not going to apologize for feeding my child."
5.Shay Mitchell
Several weeks after the actor gave birth to her first child in 2019, she and boyfriend Matte Babel attended Drake's birthday party. Bafflingly, she faced a ton of backlash for this, with one commenter writing, per Allure, "Mother of the year award right here!!!! As if you seriously could leave your baby to go party?!!! I hope the child’s aid look into this and your abilities to be a good parent cause damn!!! Lacking some serious skills there sweety! #selfish."
In a video shared on her Instagram story, Shay joked, via Allure, "Apparently, people are really upset that I left three days after having a kid to go out and party. It wasn’t three days, and she was with [my dog] Angel, so…"
6.Meghan Markle
The Duchess of Sussex has faced mom-shaming for a ton of reasons over the years. Perhaps the most ridiculous? When she was criticized for reading a children's book with Archie as part of the Save With Stories project that raised money for hungry children. The book reading took place on his first birthday in 2020 and marked his first charity video campaign. People called Meghan everything from "unmaternal" to a "phony."
7.Pink
After the singer shared a moment at the zoo with her son in 2019, she got tons of backlash from people saying they shouldn't visit a place where animals are in captivity. "Here’s the thing, though," Pink responded. "I don’t remember asking you for your opinion or for your help in raising my child. This isn’t the place for a debate. Call CNN, or call the zoo.”
A few days later, she shared a pic of her kid with the perfect caption to get ahead of the trolls: "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!"
8.Halle Berry
Like many celebrities, the actor chooses not to post her children's faces on social media. When someone on Instagram insinuated that Halle was embarrassed about her kids, she replied, "I've noticed you have said this several times now, so let me be clear — I'm not at all ashamed of my children. I try to find creative ways to incorporate them into my feed because they are the biggest part of my life, but I also work very hard to keep their identities as private as I can considering they are only children."
9.Megan Fox
In 2022, the actor shared a selfie of herself sitting on a swing. Someone commented, "Where your kids at?" — something that celebrity moms often hear that famous dads don't.
Megan responded, "wait wait wait. I...have kids?!? Oh my god I knew I forgot something!!"
10.Gabrielle Union
In 2018, the actor shared an adorable video where she lightly kissed her baby on the lips. The comments section quickly filled with criticism insisting it's not healthy to do so.
"Kaav is healthy, and I don’t even touch her without washing and sanitizing myself and everything and everyone that comes into contact with her," Gabrielle responded, via People magazine. "If you think I waited this long and went thru all this to put my baby in harm’s way… you got another thing coming."
11.Emily Ratajkowski
In 2021, the model shared several pictures of herself and her son in matching swimsuits. She faced a ton of mom-shaming over the way she held her baby with one arm (though she used two arms in some of the images). Some commenters also accused her of holding the baby just to "show her body off." Emily turned off the comments and later deleted the post entirely.
12.Kate Beckinsale
After the Underworld actor shared a video of herself dancing in 2017, someone shamed her for choosing to go out over staying home with her daughter (who was 18 at that time?!).
In an epic response, Kate wrote, per Glamour, "What's amazing is it is no longer the 18th century, so now that my one child is grown, I don't have to stay home (while she's out with her own friends) playing the pianoforte, getting consumption, or trying to secure her a marriage. But thank you for the quaint blast from the past. Oh, and I can vote now, too! YAY."
13.Cardi B
In 2018, the rapper shared a pic of herself sitting on Offset's lap during a baby shower for her daughter. One Instagram user commented, per Entertainment Tonight, "All that money and the baby shower look like a bucket of CORN." Cardi responded, "It was beautiful, and we were happy. Your mom waited a whole nine months for you to be ugly and a bucket of disappointment."
14.Michelle Branch
Last year, the singer tweeted that she was breastfeeding her baby when another mother told her she wasn't "being modest." Michelle continued, "I am in shock that this kind of judgement was coming from a fellow mom!"
I just got shamed by another mother (who was holding her own young infant!) for nursing my 6 week old baby on a bench at a playground while my toddler was playing 🤯 She said I wasn’t “being modest” I am in shock that this kind of judgement was coming from a fellow mom!
— Michelle Branch (@michellebranch) March 15, 2022
Michelle Branch / Via Twitter: @michellebranch
"Being a mom is hard enough. Can we not judge one another for how we feed our babies?" she concluded.
...and to clarify, I had a nursing tank top on and was seated away from others. It’s not like I walked into the crowd and whipped my tits out. Being a mom is hard enough. Can we not judge one another for how we feed our babies? 😤🤯
— Michelle Branch (@michellebranch) March 15, 2022
Michelle Branch / Via Twitter: @michellebranch
15.Jenna Dewan
The actor has faced multiple rounds of backlash for sharing Instagram pics in her lingerie. Commenters shamed her for wearing revealing clothes as a mother, with one even asking if (now-former husband) Channing Tatum approved her posts (!!!). Jenna later told Women's Health, in 2018, "Apparently, when you become a mother, you’re supposed to leave your sexuality at the door, and I never understood that. I think there’s nothing sexier than becoming a mother. You give life. It’s everything. And you don’t change who you are inside just because you have a kid."
16.Ayesha Curry
In 2018, the cookbook author shared a silly video of herself and her daughter. Someone commented, "Lawwd have mercy, whyyy don't you know how to brush them girls' hair??? Drives me nuts!!!"
Ayesha responded, via USA Today, "I don't make moments happen for Instagram. Moments happen, and I sometimes share. I'm not going to doll my children up for perception or anyone's approval on here. If that's what you want to see, then this is not the page for you. Real life over here."
17.And finally: Chrissy Teigen
In 2018, the cookbook author shared a funny pic showing her breastfeeding her son and a doll side by side. "Luna making me feed her babydoll, so I guess I have twins now," she wrote. One Twitter user replied, per USA Today, "Menstruating, childbirth, and sex are natural, too, but that doesn't mean I want to see pics of it and/or celebrities like @chrissyteigen taking a bath or nursing. We get it."
"I don't care to see grainy fireworks, coachella selfies or infinity pool pics but i let people live," Chrissy responded. "calm your tits and scroll on by."
I don’t care to see grainy fireworks, coachella selfies or infinity pool pics but i let people live. calm your tits and scroll on by. https://t.co/k604IcF55a
In addition, Chrissy told Today that the number one reason she faces mom-shaming is her kids' diet. "Anytime I post a picture of them holding ribs or eating sausage, I get a lot of criticism. Vegans and vegetarians are mad and feel that we’re forcing meat upon them at a young age. They freak out."
Any other celebs who've faced mom-shaming for nonsensical reasons? LMK in the comments below!