Last week I wrote about Ashley Graham changing her baby’s diaper on the floor at a Staples. She posted about it on Instagram, alongside a picture of her changing his diaper. I am still curious about who took the photo rather than help Ashley get to the restroom or her car to change Isaac’s diaper. Ashley probably told whomever to do it, but if it were me, I would have suggested we get to a better place to change Isaac. In the comments on her post and here, most people said that it was not OK, and that she should have gone to the restroom or her car to change the baby. Changing his diaper on the floor was unhygienic and not necessary. (It also didn’t give him any privacy!)
Someone else who was unimpressed was Wendy Williams. Wendy addressed Ashley on her Thursday show, saying that she was “mommy shaming” the model. People has a recap:
[Wendy said] that that “as a mother, you hate it when you go places and there are no changing tables” but opining that Graham should’ve “done something different,” like took Isaac to the car to change him.
“Mothers are looking at Ashley like, āIf she can do it, I can do it too.’ No the hell you can’t,” said Williams.
Williams also said that she recognized many moms don’t have a choice to go out to their car because they are somewhere like New York City and have to take alternate transportation. Still, she said she doesn’t consider Graham to be in that group.
“If you have a 7-week-old child [at Staples] ā¦ you’re watching the baby more than you’re watching where the Sharpies and the rings of paper and the cartridges for your printer,” Williams said. “When you see that baby’s face turn purple, you know what they’re doing.”
“You leave your whole basket there, you scoop up the baby,” she added. “This is not cool, and I don’t know why we have to know about it on your Instagram.”
“This is not hot. Ashley, I like you. This is not hot,” Williams said. “This is sending a bad message. I don’t want to see this in the store. I don’t, and I’m a mom.”
While she often gets it wrong, I agree with Wendy’s take in this instance and appreciate that she mentioned if you take public transportation as a parent, you don’t have the option of going to your car to change your baby’s diaper. I also like that she pointed out that Ashley doing this and posting about it means it’s more likely that other people are going to do it rather than take their babies to the restroom or their car. It’s not only that Ashley made the decision to do this, but that she shared a photo of it, which people will see as encouragement.
I get it: Ashley’s baby had a diaper that needed to be changed right now, and so she did that without finding a restroom or going to the car because she was focused on getting her baby clean and comfortable, instead of considering the downsides to changing a diaper in public. But documenting it with a photo shared publicly is unnecessary. Yes, being a new parent is hard, and it’s wonderful to be able to talk about that publicly. I’m so glad that Ashley is doing it, as she’s helping herself and others. I wrote this last week: She’d still be helping other people if she wrote about the frustration of changing a messy diaper while out running errands.
Here’s a clip from Wendy’s show as covered on E! It’s queued up to start at that part and only lasts a few seconds.
Completely agree with Wendy here.
Me too!
Never thought I would agree with Wendy Williams, because I’m not a fan, but I totally do agree.
The urgency is what is really bothering me about this a week or so later. You can see the dirty diaper, and itās not that dirty! I canāt even tell if thereās poop in it. Iām convinced now that she decided that changing a diaper on the floor of a Staples would draw attention to her on social media… and it worked. In the process she exposed her little baby to the world, and possibly infected a Staples with fecal matter. Way to go.
She is such a chronic over sharer. I think that we were all in agreement last week that this was nasty. Maybe she thinks it makes her relatable to post stuff like this all the time, but even if it was truly an emergency, there is no reason to photograph it and post it for the world to see.
+1
I did expect to agree wholeheartedly with Wendy Williams today, but here we are.
On Saturday I saw a young mother changing the diapers of her baby in a restaurant at the table. A restroom was just around the corner. i just don’t understand why…
Are there changing tables in the bathrooms though? I’ve had to physically hold my baby up in the air and change her, to avoid putting her on a disgusting floor, because there isn’t a changing table, many times.
Yeah, I think there is even a separate room.
Staples have public restrooms there was no reason and no excuse to do this in the middle of aisle. I find Ashley Graham to he irritating AF. So much of what she does is performative.
The staples Iāve been to in nyc donāt have public restrooms.
I’m positive that if a mother asked Staples staff to use an employee bathroom to change her baby that NO ONE is turning them away. Changing a “diaper blow-up” (which presumably would reek) in the middle of the aisle is not ok.
I can’t remember ever saying this before, but I agree with Wendy. If Ashley went on about how “we didn’t have a car. There was no bathroom.” etc., maybe I’d be more forgiving. Nobody is shaming a mom and baby having a diaper emergency – literally, shit happens! It’s more that Ashley knows she’s a role model, and it feels like she skipped a few options, which led to unhygienic conditions for her son, employees, and shoppers.
Genuine question: if she came out and said “I was delirious without sleep and just trying to care for my kid and panicked, but I realize that was the wrong move,” would we be on board? I think I would be. I have a godson and once a month he’s in my care for a full day or two. And oh my god, all the “best case scenarios” in your head just end up falling away with circumstance.
Not a parent! I know it’s so easy to criticize when you’ve never been in that situation.
Yeah, Wendy is a weirdo, but not about this…I have three kids and when they were small we often had to abandon ship and go to the car, or even back home if it was a major catastrophe. Never in aisle 9 did I change a poopy diaper!
When you have a baby that young you almost certainly have a stroller. I’ve changed more than one baby is a stroller. Awkward, yes, but also do-able. If she were on her own I might be more forgiving but she obviously had someone with her who could have helped.
I’m with Wendy on this one. New moms, just because Ashley did it doesn’t mean you should do it too. Please just don’t.
She deliberately exposed passersby and Staples employees to fecal matter without their consent. Not only is it gross, fecal transmission is one of the ways coronavirus spreads. And who had to clean up after her? Did she grab a mop from the back or did someone making minimum wage have to deal with the aftereffects of her photo-op?
There are millions of babies in New York. I have never seen a regular New Yorker pull a stunt like this. It’s always a tourist or a Insta-model who’s looking for a story or a viral social media post.
You don’t change your Baby’s diaper in the middle of a store…
PERIOD!
I remember true emergencies. And I remember that my first was born in the early 90s. You know, before most places showed diaper changing concerns? In fact, I had to take a plane when he was three weeks old which he decided was a good place and time for explosive diarrhea during takeoff. Shit was everywhere and we were belted in. It took a few blankets and a burrito wrapping to contain everything until we could make a beeline to the itty bitty lavatory and spend ten minutes preparing a place to change a diaper, change that diaper, put all the soiled items in a separate bag, and then clean up. This is why we carry so much damn shit in our diaper bags. Emergencies. There isn’t a diaper emergency requiring a throwdown in public. It’s a pain the ass to have to leave whatever, whenever, to take care of it, but we’re the parent, we’re respectful, and we jump into action when it comes to our babies. We’re fast. We’re efficient. And we don’t pause to chronicle with pics.
Iām with Wendy on this one. If thereās one thing Iām being reminded of with this Coronavirus business is that people are filthy AF. No hygiene, no consideration for others, no respect. Just dirty in every way. So thanks for leaving poop particles in the air, not washing your hands and still touching merchandise at the store and completely disrespecting someoneās workplace (as you can see in the face of that employee in the background). Itās disgusting. But also, do post it on social media because itās such a hilarious story! Youāre adorbs! Haha models amirite?
One thing I canāt stand about new parents is that everything is so cute and funny to them. Their kid > every person in the whole world. āDonāt like it, too bad. MY CHILD is more important than all of youā. One time a woman changed her babyās diaper ON THE PLANE, on her seat! When there are changing tables in the restroom. I cannot tell you how much she stank up the whole plane. It was so bad I got a migraine. It was a 4 hour flight too! I wanted to die. The flight attendants reprimanded her and she didnāt give a sht.
Letās be hygienic and respectful. I promise you itās not that hard. Itās a matter of manners and being raised well.
this isn’t mommy shaming. the victim mentality game has gotten completely out of control. she had someone take a photo of her changing her baby’s diaper out in public and then posted it on instagram. talk about fishing for drama.
To be fair every Staples Iāve been to in the past decade has been basically deserted so Iām guessing not a lot of other people were around. But still probably could have found a better place!
Social media has given a voice to all these āspecial flowersā and Iām sick of it.
I don’t know if she has a car or what. But at the least she could’ve changed the baby in his/her stroller. I don’t believe she was just walking around Staples holding the baby. I don’t see a sling…
People like AG create negative situations to make themselves victims and capitalise out of them. I was pretty vociferous when her behaviour was originally posted on here – perhaps went a bit OTT. But such people need to be held to account. AG:,Your child is not the centre of the world. You are not the centre of the world. Your Instagram is not more important than public health and safety. Donāt whine about shaming and hide behind cowardly evasion. Use your role model status to inspire kindness, thoughtfulness and positive reciprocity. And donāt make excuses for your shoddy behaviour: own it, apologise for it and MEAN it.
well said!