Shawn Johnson's Mother-Son Kiss Sparks Heated Debate Online
Shawn Johnson started a spirited parenting debate after kissing her toddler son on the lips in a new social media clip. In the viral video, the former Olympic gymnast is on a boat with her son Barrett “Bear” East, 2, who grabs her by the neck and plants lengthy smooches on his famous mom’s lips.“Wow, what was that, dude?” someone could be heard exclaiming from behind the camera. “What a smooch!! Hahahaha this guy came outta nowhere!!” Johnson, 34, captioned the clip over the weekend. Shawn Johnson faced social media controversy after sharing a video of herself kissing her 2-year-old son during a family boat outing, as seen above. Shawn Johnson/Instagram“Hahahaha this guy came outta nowhere!!” she captioned the reel. Shawn Johnson/InstagramFans were divided in the comments, with one person bluntly remarking, “This is weird,” and another writing, “One little peck ok but this is a lot 😅.”A third wrote, “Imagine a father kisses his daughter like that bro 💀,” while a fourth chimed in, “This is weird. Don’t encourage this.”Others, however, defended the mom of three. “I used to think this was kind of odd,” a follower wrote. “Now I have a two-year-old son and it is literally my favorite thing in the world. I feel so loved by him!” In the comments thread, some followers called the kiss “weird.” Shawn Johnson/InstagramOthers defended Johnson, with one person writing, “Let that boy kiss his mama!” Johnson is seen above in a prior social media photo with her sons Jett and Barrett. shawnjohnson/Instagram“Wow these comments are not it!” another person exclaimed. “Let that boy kiss his mama! He wont be doing it when he is 15, chill people.” Others posed questions, including an Instagram user who wrote, “At what point did it become inappropriate for kids to kiss their parents?”A rep for Johnson did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment Tuesday evening.Johnson married former NFL star Andrew East in 2016, and they’ve since welcomed daughter Drew Hazel East, 6, as well as sons Jett James East, 4, and Barrett.In a 2024 interview with Motherly, the athlete shared that though having three children is a challenge, she’s especially grateful for her youngest child. “Three kids is a lot,” she told the outlet at the time. “But the baby is the sweetest, most amazing little man ever. And our kids are obsessed with him.”Johnson married NFL alum Andrew East, seen above with her in a social media upload, in 2016. shawnjohnson/InstagramThe couple shares three children. The family is pictured above in a social media snapshot in March. vandywbb/InstagramBack in May, Johnson opened up about feeling “disconnected” in her marriage to East, 34, when she experienced postpartum depression following Barrett’s birth.“Our third baby is the greatest blessing and he’s amazing, but he was just so different than the other two,” the Olympic gymnast shared on BetterHelp’s “Mind If We Talk” podcast at the time.Johnson admitted to feeling like she was “losing control of myself” and “drowning,” explaining, “I didn’t know how to help or ask for help for myself because I knew it was my job to figure out how to help my baby first.”The gold medalist said it “caused so much tension” between her and East — whom she said sat her down and told her they were going to therapy. She credits therapy as “the very first thing that started healing [her]” and the “greatest gift” from her husband.“I never had doubt in us, and I never had doubt in Andrew,” she said, “but I always doubt myself because I am a perfectionist and I want to succeed.”
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