Tori Roloff posted a message on Saturday, July 11, hitting back at mom-shamers after some commenters questioned her about her son, Jackson.
The Little People, Big World star, 28, shared a photo of her 3-year-old boy kissing her on the cheek as she held daughter Lilah, 7 months.
“I am not responsible for teaching the world anything about dwarfism or a pandemic or any other global issue,” the TLC star, who shares her kids with husband Zach Roloff, wrote. “However, it is my privilege to have a platform where I can share information on things I find important like dwarfism or a pandemic or other global issues.”
“I did not chose to be in the public eye. I fell in love and I chose my husband then and I choose him every day since. This all comes along with him and our family and I feel like I’ve done a damn good job of being the best I can be,” she continued. “I don’t owe you anything. You don’t own me. You can’t manipulate me. This is my instagram and I can choose what I want to share. If this doesn’t sit well with you… I’m sorry. It’s not my job to change your mind.”
Her post came a week after the kindergarten teacher shared a 4th of July photo of her family and was quizzed by a fan about Jackson.
“Great pic…I can’t help to Notice Jackson legs they look like the are curving even more 😞 is he in pain,” a fan commented on the sweet family pic. “Is there a way to correct while he is young? Just asking out of concern ❤️❤️❤️❤️”
“He’s actually popping his hip here with some sass,” Tori replied of her son, who has achondroplasia, the same type of dwarfism as his dad and sister. “It exaggerates the bowing. He is in no pain once so ever.”
“oh that good to hear!!” the fan responded. “You are such a good mom!! ❤️”
But as more commenters asked about Jackson and said the position of his leg looked “painful,” several fans came forward to defend Tori.
“Do you people honestly believe that his family does not have his health as their upmost concern!!??” one follower wrote. “It is downright rude on a beautiful family photo to critique her child’s body parts.”
Tori also addressed the continuing speculation on her Instagram Stories, with another follower commenting that the reality star was “not happy” about being questioned over her care of her son.
The Oregon native has previously spoken about the challenges of being a mom to a little person. In April, she opened up to Us Weekly about the “scary” moment she learned that Lilah has dwarfism.
“They were valid worries,” Tori told Us. “Watching [those moments] in hindsight … it’s so much easier for me to look back and like like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that was a scary moment.’ But everything’s working out and everything is good.”
Noting that Lilah is “healthy and happy,” she added, “When you are becoming a parent to a child that has any sort of disability or any sort of thing, it can be really scary. I think that I’m proud to have shared that moment with [viewers].”
Zach, 29, added that the couple are vigilant because of the condition. “When you have a child with dwarfism … you’re a little more hypersensitive to head measurements, neck movement and leg development,” he explained. “Family history comes into play.”
