A mom who faced backlash for the way she embraced her 16-year-old son after his football game is refusing to take down a video of the moment.
Amber Wright, a single mom from Utah, posted what she thought was no more than a sweet video of herself celebrating her son's football victory - a video that she ended up gaining a great deal of flak for
In the clip, which has racked up over 9 million views, Wright and her teenage son, Brixton, share a moment of affection following his team's home game win.
"I was so proud," Wright told Today. "I was a proud mom hugging her kid."
When Wright shared the video on her Instagram account on August 18, she had no more than 1,500 followers. Following the viral post, she now has more than 19,000 followers.
However, the comments she received on the video were overwhelmingly negative, with some commenters calling into question the nature of their embrace.
One comment read: "It would’ve been cute if it was his girlfriend, but not a mother." Another commenter said: "I wonder how many of his friends are allowed to stay over. My son wouldn’t be allowed for sleepovers at their house."
A third critic penned: "I'm a single mom and very close to my sons. I hug them in public without hesitation - but straddling them in high heels would cross a line neither of us would be comfortable with. To each their own, but this appears to be an unusual relationship."
In response to the comments, Wright told Today: "I never expected it to turn into something where people are like, 'You're sexually abusing him! You're grooming him! I’m calling child protective services.'"
It's been a month since the video in question was posted and Wright is refusing to take it down, saying in a new clip posted to her Instagram account: "It was literally a hug between my son and I."
She went on: "So if you're one of the people that happens to see something immoral or sexual or wrong with that then I'm just going to say that's on you. I don't have anything else to say and I'm not going to try and explain my actions and I'm not going to take it down."
Brixton himself has since weighed in on the debacle, writing in a comment on Instagram: "How about you leave my mom alone. She’s never abused me, done anything sexual with me or my friends, or groomed me. She’s my mom; she is my hero. The video of us hugging was a HUG. Go bother someone else and maybe hug your own kids. You all need Jesus damn."
While there are plenty of negative comments still flooding in for Wright, she has also received several private messages that have been "supportive" and "kind." Many people have rallied around the proud mom on Instagram, sharing their own personal experiences.
"I feel so bad for you and your son. Nobody deserves to be publicly bashed. This was a ridiculous example of who people have become," one person wrote.
A second said: "You go mom! People don’t know the full truth around a situation because they’re just too busy judging the cover and not even bothering to look on the inside."
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