YouTuber Myka Stauffer has sparked outrage after revealing that she has "rehomed" her adopted son.
The popular family YouTuber, 32, made the announcement on May 26 with her husband James, explaining that they had made the decision to give up their son, Huxley, who they adopted from China two and a half years ago.
The couple, who have four biological children, said that they "rehomed" the boy because he has "special needs that we weren't aware of".
Watch the couple's announcement below:"With international adoptions, there's unknowns and things that are not transparent on files, and once Huxley came home, there was a lot more special needs that we weren't aware of, and that we were not told," James said in a YouTube video.
"So over the last few years, Huxley has been in numerous therapies to try and help him with all of his needs.
"For us, it's been really hard hearing from the medical professionals, a lot of their feedback, and things that have been upsetting, really upsetting for us, because this is not what we've ever wanted to hear. We've never wanted to be in this position. And we've been trying to get his needs met and help him out as much as possible… We truly love him."
Myka added in tears: "There's not an ounce of our body that doesn’t love Huxley with all of our being."
"There wasn't a minute that I didn't try our hardest and I think what Jim is trying to say is that after multiple assessments, after multiple evaluations, numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit and that his medical needs, he needed more."
Prior to announcing that she'd rehomed her son, Myka shared this TikTok video:She continued: "Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500 percent. So when you get insidious, hurtful comments, it just makes it hurt worse. It's not about me at all, it's just this journey, the last couple months have been like the hardest thing I could have ever imagined to going to choosing to do because ultimately, after pouring our guts and our heart into this little boy…"
The couple did not explain exactly how their son had been rehomed to protect his identity, but Myka did reveal that he has a "new forever family", who are a "perfect" match for him.
She said: "He is thriving, he is very happy, he is doing really well, and his new mommy has medical professional training, and it is a very good fit."
Myka's announcement that she had rehomed her son was met with major backlash on social media, especially as she has sponsorship deals with Big Lots, TJ Maxx, and Danimals yogurt.
One Twitter user wrote: "Imagine adopting a little boy from China who's an orphan with special needs, taking him away from everything he knows, only to give him up and 'rehome' him a few years later. Some of these YouTube families are actually shocking."
Writer Sophie Ross tweeted: "Extremely depressed reading about the influencer who raised funds to adopt a son, made this her 'brand', discovered he has special needs, secretly rehomed him, blocked ppl asking about him (after her followers helped fund the adoption) & put out a video making herself the victim."
"To be clear she pretended he didn't exist for MONTHS and deleted comments from concerned followers. Finally JUST addressed it today bc people were tagging her sponsors asking why they’re paying someone who, like… gave up their child after gleefully profiting off him for years."
Another Twitter user wrote: I can't believe you @MykaStauffer. Huxley wasn’t a pet, and you brought him into your children's lives. Then you ripped that from them. You never would've done that had he been your biological child. Horrible."
Now, people are calling for Myka to be stripped of her sponsorship deals, per the Metro.
