Julia Stiles, star of beloved teen classics of the late ‘90s and early 2000s such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance (and those Bourne movies) is a new mom. Like really new — she gave birth to a baby boy named Strummer just five weeks ago. Congratulations!
She posted her first picture of the little guy on Instagram, snug as a bug in a rug inside of his front carrier.
“I haven’t worn a back pack since middle school. Now I have a frontpack.”
Innocuous? Cute? Apparently not, because a bunch of mom-shamers had to try and make Julia Stiles, a person they’ve never met, feel very, very bad because she’s obviously a terrible and dangerous person. What did she do? She’s using her front carrier, a Tula brand item, totally wrong and is thus holding her baby incorrectly.
Stiles deleted all the negative comments (and there were a lot of them!) but got back on Instagram to explain and, sigh, defend herself. She posted a picture of the Clash, punk icons and likely namesake for Strummer. (Their frontman was Joe Strummer.)
Stiles wrote:
It was brought to my attention that in the previous photo I am not holding my baby correctly. Wow, I didn’t expect that. What was supposed to be a shout out of products I like, suddenly becomes an invitation to comment on my baby, and my ability as a mother. That’s the internet for you, the carnivorous plant from “Little Shop of Horrors”. I was trying to keep much of my son’s image private, including, I guess, his little feet. And it was just a photo taken at home, not how I normally carry him around. Thanks for the concern, anyway. Yes, Mothers, always read the safety instructions. But also, Instagrammers: instead of writing snarky comments about a 5 week old, try dancing around your living room to a Clash record. It’s way more fun.
Stiles’s Instagram followers continued to show up with their commentary on the original post, but this time they were largely positive, and Stiles didn’t delete their words.
People are always going to have something to say no matter how great of a mom you are! Dont let the haters get to you, you are totally rocking mom life “
don’t take the internet trolls to heart! They have nothing more to do. I’m sure your a great mom keep up the good work
You’re doing a great job meeting your baby’s needs and loving so fully and unconditionally. Plus, yay free hands so you can eat!
Not that it matters… but you are carrying your baby absolutely perfectly . These carriers can be used for legs IN or OUT, as long as they are in an “M” shape (which your son’s appear to be). Congratulations on your baby boy 🙂
people are stupid. I wore both of my babies constantly and it was wonderful! Even learned how to breastfeed while wearing.