NEWSJessie James Decker Reveals Why She 'Felt The Need To Respond' To Criticism About Her Kids' Abs: 'I'm A Mama Bear'
Dec. 28 2022, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
Almost one month after Jessie James Decker had to defend her three kids — Vivian, Eric II and Forrest — after they were criticized for having abs at a young age, the singer revealed why she felt the need to speak out about the ordeal.
“You know, I think for me, I’m proud of my family, and I’m proud of my kids,” the Dancing With the Stars alum, 34, said in a new interview. “And I’ll always want to encourage them to do what they love and what their heart wants. They love sports, and they’re active. And so, for me, I am so proud of them, and I will always encourage their passion for sports and being active. And I just draw the line when it comes to criticizing my kids. And so, I felt the need to respond, and I’m a mama bear, but I’m proud of them.”
The "Wanted" songstress noted it's important for parents to “tune out all the negativity ‘cause it doesn’t matter.”
As OK! previously reported, the country star, who is married to Eric Decker, posted a photo of her three kiddos showing off their bodies via Instagram in November.
But Jessie clapped back saying, "From one mother to another. Please don't call my children's appearance strange just because they don't look the way you think they should? It's unkind," the singer replied to the troll.
When one user accused the Kittenish founder of photoshopping her kids, she said, "Yeah I used an 'ab' app on my small children wtf."
Jessie then spoke out about the debacle.
"I didn’t plan on addressing this because it’s bonkers but the photos are out there and every single news outlet has posted about this. When I posted the pix of our vacation and included the kids being silly flexing on the beach on our thanksgiving trip I had NO clue it would get the reaction it did. But Being accused of photoshopping abs on my kids (I can’t help but laugh) or … the polar opposite over 'overtraining' our kids makes me realize how bizarre our world has gotten regarding the body and what’s normal and what’s not," she wrote at the time.
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She continued, "We preach about body positivity and acceptance but my kids having a mass amount of genetic and built muscle from athletics is 'weird'? I want to raise my kids to feel proud of their bodies and hard work from either Vivis elite competitive gymnastics to Eric Jr wanting to be like dad as an NFL receiver to little Forrest who spends hours dancing his heart out. Let’s not pick and choose what we normalize regarding bodies and be accepting of all people and children. If we wanna do 'better' then do better. I’m proud of my children and encourage them to live their dreams. So we’ll see y’all at the 2032 Olympics, and wearing Bubbys jersey in the stands and dancing at Forrests rock concert✌️."
Jessie spoke with Life & Style.
