Not taking the bait! Shawn Johnson “wasn’t surprised” that she faced the wrath of mom-shamers on social media after posting a video of her 3-month-old daughter Drew’s first flip.
The Olympian, 28, opened up about the supposed controversy while promoting her partnership with Enfamil after she and her husband, Andrew East, decided to switch their daughter to formula. Since the couple, who tied the knot in 2016, share so much of their lives with their little one on social media, Johnson said it opens the floodgates to unwanted opinions about their parenting skills.
“I wasn’t surprised just because we get shamers every single day. Every single person on social media has haters and negative feedback,” the decorated gymnast told Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday, February 20. “I’ve learned how to thicken my skin to where it doesn’t bother me. But when they come after my kid and start questioning … it’s the first time I felt like they were threatening my love for my child. Because they had said that they were concerned for their health and wellbeing.”
Johnson previously defended the sweet video of herself holding Drew during a trip to the beach earlier this month. The retired athlete carefully flipped her daughter over, gently placing her on her lap with a huge smile on her face.
“She was PERFECTLY safe so don’t even haha. #momlife #milestone,” she captioned the playful Instagram video.
Despite her attempt to hold back the haters, one user accused her of being “a bit rough handling such a young baby” and scolded the new parents for not keeping their daughter warm enough on the beach.
The interaction struck a nerve with Johnson, who told Us that it’s “almost comical” trying to keep up with all the unsolicited advice they receive every day. Two months before posting about her daughter’s first flip, the Winning Balance author expected to take heat from mom-shamers on Instagram for dancing with Drew before her first Christmas.
“It’s everything. There’s something in every scenario,” she said. “I also think that we as moms are so passionate about our kids that sometimes we attack other moms because whatever has worked for us is kind of like our bible. We almost preach it onto other people, which you can’t do since everybody’s different.”
