'Hate It or Love It' hitmaker The Game has faced criticism online after sharing an image of what his 12-year-old daughter wore to a recent birthday party for P. Diddy's 16-year-old twins.
The 43-year-old Compton native had taken to Instagram to post a photo of daughter California Dream to his 13.2 million followers.
In the caption, the proud father wrote: "Somebody please tell the LORD to help…. She was just 2 years old like a week ago…. Now my baby is 12 years old, growing up & it won't stop."
In the image, California or 'Cali' is seen sporting a shiny silver mini dress with corset-style detail while kneeling down and smiling at the camera. She has a white, fluffy coat wrapped around herself and is wearing winged cat eyeliner makeup.
However, when the rapper - whose real name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor - began receiving criticism, he added: "DISCLAIMER: before the internet get to INTERNET'n, me & her mother both agreed to let her do her make up for the young & beautiful [Jessie and D'Lila Combs'] sweet 16 birthday party [sic],"
People reported that Cali had attended the event with her mom Tiffney Cambridge, who shares another child, 15-year-old King Justice, with ex-partner Taylor.
The Game had later defended himself over his daughter's outfit choice, in a statement posted on The Shade Room's Instagram, saying: "I'm gonna say this once so people who aren't her parents get it. My daughter is 12 & both of her parents are more than strict. Tiffney is a school teacher with a master's degree & 2 other degrees who is an amazing parent & is very capable of raising our daughter to be great even if I wasn't in the picture…"
"But I am in the picture so… Tiffney called me & asked me would it be okay for my daughter to wear the dress in the photo to the twins' party… after talking to her thoroughly for over an hour about it, I agreed to let my daughter rock.. being that she wears a school uniform 5 days a week. My daughter has grown tremendously over the last year & is now almost 5'9 in height & beautiful," he added.
The rapper continued: "She's a straight A student & is shy in most cases & dresses like a Tom boy in baggy jeans and Dr. Martin boots damn near everyday. The twins had a futuristic bday theme & my baby wanted to look great & be in full confidence going to support her friends' celebration. I am her father & her protector and she is & will always be an amazing young woman. I wish everyone happy holidays & thanks for your opinions on a child that belongs to US but we GOT THIS."
His comment received mixed opinions, with one person writing that the issue was Cali's pose in the image, not necessarily the outfit she was wearing. "I don't think it's the dress. It's the pose in the picture. And the pose is what a 12 year old would do, because they are entering a stage of adolescence, where their sexuality and desire to be found attractive is growing.
"As parents, it's our job to help guide them through this stage and provide boundaries for their physical, emotional, and mental safety. Bottom line for me, this type of picture would not have been taken/exposed to public," the comment continued.
Someone else chimed in: "you ain't got to explain a damn thing to these folks, even if you all are in the lime light that is you and Tiffney child and what y'all decide is no one decision or input needed! She looks beautiful [sic]."
