Mother left ‘disgusted’ after Instagram removes photo of her child following complaints about the colour of her skin
‘My child’s skin is beautiful’
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A mother has been left feeling outraged after Instagram removed a photo of her daughter following complaints about the child’s colour of skin.
When mother-of-two Jordyn Jones shared a photo of her toddler Winter on Instagram with her 92,000 followers, she wasn’t expecting the bombardment of cruel comments that followed.
The photo showed her daughter walking on the beach while displaying a very dark tan.
Several people decided to attack Jones in the comments.
One woman messaged Jones directly, writing: "It's disgusting to see how dark your daughter's skin is.
"Have you heard of suncream? How about you start using it before your kid looks 40 at four. Horrible mother."
Jones couldn’t believe the online abuse that she received, which led to Instagram removing the photo from the social media platform.
"At first I was quite upset and angry about it being removed," Jones told The Independent.
"I was more so angry at the messages I was receiving about ways I should be caring for my skin and people trying to educate me on sunblock!
"It was hurtful but I have had so much support and the kindness has definitely outweighed the negatives and I'm so thankful for that."
Jones, who lives on the Sunshine Coast in Australia, took to Instagram after her photo’s removal to address the controversy.
“Woke up this morning to see my post had been removed from Instagram because more than a few people had reported it,” she wrote.
“I am disgusted at the thought that people who follow me condone that lady’s bullying and racist remarks.
“My child’s skin is beautiful, I take all necessary measures to ensure her skin is protected and I wake up every damn day striving to be the best mother possible.”
While a number of people felt the need to report the photo and post hurtful remarks, many have also reached out to Jones to express their support.
“I want to say a huge thank you for everyone writing to me. I appreciate your support and kind words,” she wrote in another recent Instagram post.
“I just want to say though that I do respect even the people who have wrote into me disagreeing with my post but I thank you for going about it in a tasteful way and not shaming my child for her skin colour.
“We are of Aboriginal descent and we are proud of our heritage.”
An Instagram spokesperson has since explained that the photo was mistakenly removed by an Instagram reviewer for nudity, providing The Independent with the following statement:
"We mistakenly removed the photo, but quickly restored it as soon as the mistake was brought to our attention. We have apologised to Ms Jones."
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