Stars Defending Their Controversial Parenting Choices

Kim Zolciak-Biermann

The Don't Be Tardy star faced off with a slew of haters after posting a photo of her 5-year-old daughter, Kaia Rose, on Instagram.

"Picture of the screen, where does the time go @kaiabiermann how are you 5 already?" wrote Zolciak-Biermann, who took a snap of her daughter on a TV screen to share with fans just how grown-up her little girl looked.

However, some fans felt that Kaia's "grown-up" appearance looked unnatural and shamed the mom of six for letting her daughter wear makeup at such a young age.

"Makeup and hair extensions. Really??," one user commented, to which Zolciak-Biermann responded, "hair extensions now that's funny!"

"Why is [Kaia] wearing a bright red lipstick? I don't eve[sic] wear lipstick that bright," another added.

"Sweetie it's a tv screen color is off it's not accurate but regardless just because you don't doesn't mean others won't," Zolciak-Biermann clapped back, seemingly defending her choice to allow her daughter to wear makeup if she wants.

02 of 12

Amanda Stanton

The Bachelor alumna was confused when people started to call her out for posting a selfie her 5½-year-old child, Charlie Emma, took in a floral two-piece swimsuit ahead of a family beach day.

"I have 2 daughters 10 and 16. Lets teach confidence and body positivity without this type of an image … Amanda I like you girl but this is a bit too much," one Instagram follower commented on the post.

Stanton quickly responded to defend the photo and her daughter for taking it.

"I don't see how this isn't teaching body positivity and confidence. If anything, I think it is!" said Stanton, who is also mom to 7-year-old daughter Kinsley.

"And why I think it's so cute. She is 5 and has a cute little belly and doesn't even know it and feels confident in her swimsuit about to go to the beach," she continued.

Another user decided to point out that while the photo may be "adorable," there are many "predators" on the Internet who shouldn't see such images.

"Are you not worried about people sexualizing this photo or pedophiles/predators? I'm not judging and think it's an adorable picture, just curious," the user asked Stanton.

"I get what you're saying but I can't control what a sick person might be thinking. We were at the beach today and there were kids running around naked, people post photos of their kids in the bath or at the pool etc.," Stanton responded.

"I understand there are sick people out there and I do everything in my power to protect my kids and keep them safe but I can't let it take over my life to the point where I'm scared to post a cute photo [of] them in a bathing suit," she added.

03 of 12

Kim Kardashian West

After sharing a photo of a then-5-year-old North West with straightened hair, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star was met with criticism over North's sleek look.

"Don't straighten her hair too much it'll ruin her curls 😫," one fan advised. "I did that to my hair and ruined it but I'm finally getting my natural curly hair back."

Replied Kardashian West: "She is allowed twice a year, on her birthday and birthday party! This pic was taken back in June on her bday."

04 of 12

Khloé Kardashian

True and Khloe Kardashian — Khloe Kardashian/Instagram

Fans started to question Kardashian's "excessive spending" when it came to her daughter True Thompson's toy Bentley car, which she received as a gift during the holidays in 2018.

"Another Kardashian in a Bentley. You guys are so oblivious to how your excessive spending looks to the outside world. I really loved your family's story and now just can't bare [sic] to watch as you spend all this money on worthless materialism. It's so sad," one social media user commented on the video Kardashian posted of True playing with her new toy.

In response, Kardashian pointed out that her baby girl wasn't driving an actual luxury vehicle.

"Ummm you know this is not a real Bentley? It's a toy," she wrote. "No reason to be sad over a baby in a toy car. Either way I'm sorry you feel that way but I hope you have a great weekend! Focus on things that make you happy! Smile."

05 of 12

Rachel Zoe

The fashion designer and mom of two told PEOPLE that her son, Kaius Jagger, loves his long locks, despite a few negative comments she's received in the past about letting his hair grow out.

"For the record, my son thinks he has cool surfer hair," Zoe, who's also mom to son Skyler Morrison, told PEOPLE. "At the end of the day, it's not like I'm torturing him. He loves his hair. He thinks it's cool."

"A few days ago, someone said something [on Instagram] like, 'You know, Rachel, I think at this point your kids are old enough to where they're going to start being made fun of for their long hair. You should really cut it and be nice to your sons,' " the star recalled. "I responded with, 'Please unfollow me.'"

The fashion mogul said she "can't wrap her head around" the concept of using social media to criticize someone else's kids or their parenting style. "I think anyone who takes the time to insult someone's child is pretty much a horrific human being," Zoe concluded.

06 of 12

Chrissy Teigen

Is a 3-year-old too young to be wearing nail polish? That's what the model's social media commenters said after Teigen posted a clip of her daughter Luna with freshly painted hot-pink fingernails and toenails.

"Doing her nails is my knitting. Kid toes kill me!," Teigen tweeted alongside the video.

In response to one since-deleted negative tweet, Teigen simply wrote, "There she is," seemingly expecting people to hate on her doing her daughter's nails.

She also retweeted a second now-deleted post and jokingly quipped in reply, presumably about the polish itself, "Well I actually had her drink it so joke's on you."

07 of 12

Armie Hammer

The actor was slammed for posting a video of his son, Ford Douglas Armand, sucking on his toes.

In the clip, which has since been deleted, both Ford and his father can be heard laughing while a woman in the background, presumably Hammer's wife, Elizabeth Chambers, says, "This is not normal."

After Ford takes his father's toes out of his mouth, a smiling Hammer adds, "Alright, no more."

"This happened for a solid 7 minutes," the actor wrote alongside the clip, adding the joking hashtag "foot fetish on fleek."

As the video began to cause a stir on the Internet, some social media users brushed it off as just kids being kids, but many others criticized the actor for sharing it.

"TOTALLY NOT FUNNY … inappropriate," wrote one, while another added, "So gross. Why post it and let it go on for 7 minutes!!"

Blogger Perez Hilton uploaded the video onto his Instagram feed and asked his followers whether they thought the clip was "inappropriate or funny."

Chambers then explained the video by commenting on Hilton's post, sharing that contrary to her husband's caption, their son only had his father's toes in his mouth for a few seconds.

"It wasn't seven minutes… more like five seconds," she wrote, explaining that Ford's behavior was a family joke.

"Our son likes to play with people's feet and I put the video on our family stream because this phase is an ongoing joke," she explained, before admitting that "sharing the video on Instagram was def not the best move on A's part."

Sharing one final thought, Elizabeth added, "I can assure you that our children's safety and well-being is always our first priority."

08 of 12

Scott Disick

Kris Jenner's longtime boyfriend, Corey Gamble, got into an argument with Disick on the topic of disciplining children.

The heated exchange took place after Kourtney Kardashian revealed that she no longer had a nanny because her 7-year-old daughter had scratched her.

"[The nanny] was putting her in the car and Penelope scratched her face, but P can be out of control," said Kardashian. "I think she blacks out and does these wild things."

While Jenner stressed that action needed to be taken to prevent this kind of behavior in the future, tensions grew when Gamble suggested the idea of spanking Penelope.

"If P scratch me, I'm whipping her a-," said Gamble.

"My daughter?" Disick replied, visibly shocked and angry.

Then when Gamble doubled down on his statement, things got worse.

"Give her a spanking, for sure," Gamble said.

"My little daughter?!" Disick shouted.

"Whippin' is that discipline!" Gamble declared.

After the argument, Kardashian met up with Gamble at Jenner's house to talk about what happened.

"We are never going to agree," she said, as the pair exchanged words. "I don't want to have to not come to my mom's house or not bring my kids here because I feel uncomfortable."

Asking what he had ever done to make her feel that way, Gamble reiterated that he does not want "to discipline her kids." In a confessional, Gamble tried to further explain that he just thinks it's important that children "understand consequences," and that he hopes the family will be able to move past this.

"I understand how Kourtney and Scott feel but I can say what I want to say because that's my opinion," he said. "I just hope everyone can move on."

09 of 12

Tamron Hall

The host of the Tamron Hall Show had a few words for an Instagram user, who left a comment on one of her posts that said, "Your poor baby must miss you."

The working mom was quick to call out the user by taking a screenshot of the comment and posting it, writing, "I am so sick of this. ... This mom shame lameness is so corny and toxic. Fyi my 'poor baby' is right here with me and when he's not he is in the loving arms of Dad, Granny, Nanny."

"Yes I have a wonderful woman who helps me," Hall, mom of 3-month-old Moses, continued. "My mom had her sisters and other women help her too. No shame in women helping women. Knock it off with this nonsense. Let's talk about it @tamronhallshow."

10 of 12

Pink

"At least twice a week on tour, we shut the door to the outside world and have family dinner," the singer captioned a photo of her family's smiley taco night.

"As you can see, it makes Jameson feel deep, deep joy," she continued, adding, "#lastedsevenminutes #gratitude #space #conversation #loosescrews."

The family pic prompted one social media user to call out the singer for posting about shutting out "the outside world," by commenting, "Except it's posted on ig."

Pink responded, "Yes I like to promote healthy stuff. I also like to remind people to stop being TOTAL D- BAGS TOO. Consider this your reminder, f-o."

After the commenter replied, "and well damn, I was coming to see ya Sunday night in Nashville…still love the music," Pink responded, "that doesn't change my answer. That just makes you confused."

11 of 12

Gabrielle Union

After welcoming her daughter, Kaavia James, on Nov. 7, 2018, the actress posted a video of herself kissing her then-newborn baby girl on the lips. The clip prompted fans to congratulate the new mommy, and also shame her for kissing Kaavia on the mouth too soon.

"Ahhhh didn't anyone tell you you shouldn't kiss a baby in the mouth. Even your own. She's beautiful though," one fan wrote in the comment section of Union's post.

"She's gorgeous, but no kissing babies on the mouth," another user commented.

Union later responded to her critics, writing, "Hey guys I appreciate all the concern about kisses on the mouth and labored breathing, I am blessed enough to have a nurse here with us while at work."

"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."

"If you think I waited this long and went thru [sic] all this to put my baby in harm's way… you got another thing coming," Union concluded.

12 of 12

Jessica Simpson

The parenting police reared their heads after the star posted a video of her husband, Eric Johnson, having fun with their son, Ace Knute, on a pool day.

"A broken bone doesn't hold this kiddo down #waterproofcast #ACEKNUTE," she captioned the clip of Johnson flipping Ace, who is seen wearing a cast, in the air.

Simpson's comments section grew with users concerns, such as, "As someone in healthcare, I'm gonna say that's not a good idea" and "I think any generation would not think it's a good idea to flip a child around like that with a broken arm lol … that's just common sense."

Luckily, Simpson's fans came to her defense so she didn't have to engage with the negativity.

"You people criticizing this because he has a broken arm CLEARLY have no clue about how modern casting and orthopedic technology works," one commenter wrote.

"Don't listen to the haters," another fan added. "Just because the kid has a broken arm doesn't mean he should be sidelined from the rest of life!"