People Are Mad at Kelly Clarkson for Feeding Her Child Nutella Because Moms Can't Win
Kelly Clarkson recently posted a video on Instagram of her three-year-old daughter doing a happy dance while eating Nutella for the first time. She captioned it, “River's first Nutella experience. It should have been via crepe but toast was easier.” We all remember that feeling when we first tried the addictive hazelnut spread, except when you did your Nutella dance you probably didn't look nearly as cute as River. My mom definitely gave me Nutella for breakfast (spoiler alert: I’m alive and well).
So it may surprise you that this harmless video of a kid eating Nutella drew a lot of negative attention to Clarkson’s mothering abilities. Or maybe it won’t, considering how much people shame moms who are in the spotlight. Remember Pink’s decaf coffee ‘gram and when Chrissy Teigen decided to take a night off?
The comments quickly filled with ridicule and unsolicited advice about what Clarkson should be feeding River, whom she has clearly raised perfectly fine for the last three years. They were mostly misinformed and entirely obnoxious:
“Yep. Start them out with cancer at an early age”
“Exploiting your children... how fucking sad.”
“Nutella is hella bad for you”
“Check the ingredients! You may rethink it in future”
"Giving food like this to a child is child abuse."
To give you some context, earlier this year there was a social-media firestorm about the possible negative health effects of Nutella. It all stemmed from an announcement by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that claimed there were carcinogenic contaminants in the product. This comes from the presence of palm oil, which Ferrero refuses to remove, causing some European markets to boycott. Palm oil contains some glycidyl fatty acid esters (GE), which form during food processing or when palm oil is refined at temperatures over 393 F. The EFSA considers GE carcinogenic at some levels of exposure, but it should be noted that Ferrero claims they process the palm oil in a safe manner and the EFSA never advised consumers to stop eating the product.
All of this is to say that the mommy shamers claiming Clarkson is feeding her child cancer are not only wrong but completely out of line. As a public figure, Clarkson and her kids' lives are always in the spotlight. Clarkson, like many mothers across the globe, wanted to share a moment of her child’s life with her friends, family, and fans, and was met with judgement. As many commenters agreed, a healthy serving of chocolate nut spread on a single slice of toast is normal and delicious, and far better than sitting there with a spoon in the jar like the rest of us do (admit it).
Refreshingly, there were even more people who came to Clarkson’s defense—aggressive or not, they are 100 percent right:
“Haters be damned!! This kid couldn't be cuter and there's nothing about this child to suggest she's unhealthy. Nothing! If all these haters looked in their own kitchens and pantries they'd most likely be in for a few unhealthy surprises of their own.”
“I think this is so cute!!! Let her enjoy some nutella. I can assure you, it will NOT hurt her. And to the ASSHOLE who commented about weight, I promise this piece of toast with nutella on it will not make her 'blow up' you MORON. And for the 'as a mom..' commenters.... AS A MOM YOU SHOULD KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND STOP JUDGING OTHER MOMS!!!”
One commenter says: “I do the same little dance when I eat Nutella!” I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I’m about to go eat Nutella right now. To Kelly Clarkson I say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger (especially Nutella because it won’t kill you or your daughter).
