YouTubers Nikki and Dan Phillippi are being blasted as ‘disgusting,’ ‘awful,’ and ‘appalling people’ over a 2018 video in which they revealed that they stopped a planned adoption after being told they wouldn’t be legally allowed to post about the child on social media for a year.
Earlier this month, the influencer couple faced furious backlash for euthanizing their dog because of his ‘aggressive side’ after he bit her one-year-old son Logan — and now critics are returning to another troubling update that Nikki, 33, and Dan, 34, shared three years ago.
In the May 2018 vlog, which has been viewed over 268,000 times, Nikki and Dan explained that they stopped pursuing adoption of a child from Thailand when they learned that the Thai government had a temporary ban on social media posts about adopted children — which would be at odds with their very public social media personas.
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Yikes: YouTubers Nikki and Dan Phillippi are being blasted for pulling out of adoption when they were told they wouldn’t be allowed to post about the child on social media for a year
Flashback: In the 2018 video, they said the one-year ban on posting was at odds with their very public social media personas
‘We are not adopting from Thailand,’ Nikki announced in the video.
She explained that they were already working with an adoption agency when they were notified of the agency’s social media policy regarding adopted children.
‘Thailand has it’s own law that’s unique to it, that after you pick up your child, they are your child — but you are not allowed to talk about them or share any images, photos, videos, anything about them online for a year,’ she said.
‘And that — I mean, Nikki’s got a YouTube channel and we share a whole lot,’ Dan chime din.
‘When that hit we literally were like, “What?”‘ Nikki added. ‘So we were like going round the houses like trying to figure out how this could work, like, “Hashtag baby blur face”? What are we gonna do? Dan’s like, “Maybe we could deal with that for a year?”
‘And we’re talking about it and we’re like alright, let’s pray about it, let’s sleep on it and then let’s see how we feel in the morning,’ she continued.
Doing it their own way: The couple has since had their own biological child, a one-year-old son named Logan (pictured)
Huh? In trying to figure out if they could go a year without posting, they wondered if they’d employ ‘Hashtag baby blur face’
‘I almost Snapchatted while I was signing an NDA once!’ she said. ‘I’m gonna totally mess this up! And then I’ll ruin it for other families!’
Dan added that part of the issue was that the adoption wouldn’t even be finalized until a year after they brought home their child.
‘So you know, the kid’s gonna be living in our house for a year and it’s not, that whole time, not our kid, so we’re not okay with that either,’ he said.
Nikki said that they thought about it, but she ultimately became concerned that there might be an ‘accident’ in which she shared a photo of the baby.
‘I almost Snapchatted while I was signing an NDA once!’ she said. ‘I’m gonna totally mess this up! And then I’ll ruin it for other families!’
Nikki said that she even had the adoption agency ask the Thai government to make an exception for them because ‘their whole lives are online,’ but the government refused.
‘And we were like, then this is not where God has us,’ she added.
Called out: The couple has been blasted as ‘disgusting,’ ‘awful,’ and ‘appalling people’
The adoption video appears to have mostly flown under the radar at the time, but as a furor was whipped up around the couple’s decision to kill their dog, a clip as resurfaced on social media.
‘Imagine being this awful and not even realizing it,’ wrote one Twitter user, while others called the Phillippis ‘gross’ and ‘psychopaths.’
‘These people shouldn’t even have houseplants jfc,’ tweeted another.
‘NO WAY she said “pray about it” as if God would be like “yeah don’t give the child a home if you can exploit them for views” I can’t believe these people are still being given views and likes!!’ tweeted one more.
‘Child dogged a bullet. They would be terrible parents,’ yet another chimed in.
The couple has since had their own biological child, a one-year-old son named Logan.
YouTuber Myka Stauffer ‘rehomed’ adopted son with special needs
YouTuber Myka Stauffer, 33, and her husband, James, also faced backlash for ‘rehoming’ a five-year-old boy that had adopted three years earlier from China
In May of 2020, YouTuber Myka Stauffer, 33, and her husband, James, also faced backlash for ‘rehoming’ a five-year-old boy that had adopted three years earlier from China.
In a YouTube video, James said that they had discovered ‘there were a lot more special needs that we were not aware of’ with little Huxley. Myka, who also has four biological children added: ‘Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like 500 per cent.’
Myka and James cited medical privacy concerns for not explaining in detail why they decided to give Huxley up. She has previously stated that the toddler has autism and brain trauma.
Social media users were swift to criticize the couple, with one writing: ‘She adopted a child for views and then got rid of him and treated him like a brand deal.’
‘I never watched that Myka Stauffer youtube mom, but I am RAGING over the fact that they rehomed their adopted special needs son,’ wrote another, while a third chimed in: ‘You adopted him solely for the attention it would give you and now you’re giving him away. Unbelievable.’
In a YouTube video, James said that they had discovered ‘there were a lot more special needs that we were not aware of’
Myka and James also have four biological children. They cited medical privacy concerns for not explaining in detail why they decided to give Huxley up
But Myka said in her video that it wasn’t her fault and she made the difficult decision for Huxley’s own benefit.
‘I didn’t adopt a little boy to share these things publicly … 99, 95 per cent of the struggles we have never publicly aired,’ she said. ‘Numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit. He needed more.’
She added that an adoption agency had helped place Huxley with his ‘forever family.’
‘He’s thriving, he’s doing really well, and his new mommy has medical, professional training,’ she said.
Response: After coming under fire for her announcement, Myka allegedly responded in the comments
Later, the Ohio-based vlogger admitted she was in over her head when she adopted Huxley, calling herself ‘naive’ about adopting and not ‘fully equipped’ to deal with the challenge.
‘I apologize for being so naive when I started the adoption process. I was not selective or fully equipped or prepared. I received one day of watching at home online video training and gained my Hague adoption certification which was required by my accredited adoption agency. For me, I needed more training.’
‘I can’t say I wish this never happened because I’m still so glad Huxley is here and getting all of the help he needs,’ Myka continued.
‘I also know that even though he is happier in his new home and doing better that he still experienced trauma and I’m sorry, no adoptee deserves any more trauma.’
Myka also ‘debunked’ claims she adopted Huxley for money, explaining: ‘While we did receive a small portion of money from videos featuring Huxley and his journey, every penny and much more went back into his care.
‘Getting Huxley the care and services he needed was very expensive and we made sure he got every service, and resource we could possibly find.’
Myka lost several followers over the scandal, as well as her partnerships with Playtex Baby, Suave, Danimals, Big Lots, and Chili’s, and Kate Hudson’s fitness brand, Fabletics.
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Shocking: Earlier this month, Nikki announced on Instagram that she and Dan had put down their dog Bowser, saying he had ‘an aggressive side’
Photo shoot: She shared photos of Bowser with her family over the years, including new pictures of herself hugging him goodbye and posing with him and her son
Say what? ‘Bowser had an aggressive side that reared its ugly head a few times over the years. After a lot of counsel, we decided it was time for Bowser to pass peacefully on,’ she wrote
And earlier this month, the Phillippis claimed that it was in the name of protecting Logan that they put down their dog Bowser.
On May 3, Nikki shared several photos of Bowser and announce that she and her husband had euthanized him because he had been showing an ‘aggressive side’ and had recently bitten Logan.
‘I’m so grateful for our time with you. You were a mini horse, a shark, a bear, a mouse, a dinosaur and Dans best friend all in one. You made me laugh… you made me cry… you destroyed our property… and you also kept it safe. lol You kept ME feeling safe,’ she wrote,
Too little, too late? Nikki paid tribute to Bowser at the start of the post
‘Bowser was the ultimate cuddle bug, but you wouldn’t necessarily know that if you just dropped by our house… he just acted crazy. Well,’ she continued. ‘Bowser had an aggressive side that reared its ugly head a few times over the years. After a lot of counsel, we decided it was time for Bowser to pass peacefully on.’
Nikki, who has 1.29 million YouTube subscribers and 439,000 Instagram followers, acknowledged that the news would be upsetting to many of her fans.
‘I know a lot of you will be shocked to hear this… my brain is still shocked. McTrowsen [Bowser] has been part of our life and content HIS entire life…and for the last 9 years of our marriage,’ she wrote.
‘We didn’t want to make this decision…as I’m sure you can imagine. I’m not kidding when I say this was one of the saddest days of my life.
‘That being said, I’m so grateful we got to hold him and kiss him in our home while he passed,’ she said.
Among the photos she posted were those taken in a goodbye photoshoot that they staged before killing the dog — including one with Logan sitting happily next to Boswer.
Nikki promised to share a video update on her YouTube channel and concluded her post with a message to her late dog, writing: ‘We will miss you forever Bowser.’
Huh? Many people also took issue with the fact that she had a photo shoot with Bowser before putting the dog down, including a picture of him close to Logan, whom he had bit
Heartbroken: Nikki said the day they euthanized Bowser was one of the ‘saddest’ days of her life, adding: ‘I’m so grateful we got to hold him and kiss him in our home while he passed’
Teddy bear? A number of the photos she shared show Bowser cuddled up with her husband
Outrage: The backlash was swift and angry fans flocked to the comments to accuse her of ‘killing’ Bowser instead of rehoming him or retraining him
Big deal: The controversial post received more than 20,000 comments in four days
The backlash was swift, and outraged Instagram users flocked to the comments to accuse her of ‘killing’ Bowser instead of rehoming him or retraining him.
‘Woah… what about adoption?’ one person asked. ‘At the LEAST. Not a judgmental person here but wow, this saddens my heart and truly rubs me the wrong way.’
Fellow influencer Aja Dang slammed Nikki, writing: ‘Hold on — you kill your dog but play it off like you did him a favor?!?!?! There were at least a dozen other steps you could’ve taken when you first saw aggression issues but you. jump to killing your dog bc YOU let it get to the point where your dog bit your kid?’
‘Your dog didn’t fail you, you failed your dog,’ another Instagram user hit back. ‘To end your dog’s life in this manner is deeply disturbing.’
Many people also took issue with the fact that she had a photo shoot with Bowser before putting the dog down, including a picture of him close to Logan, whom he had bit.
‘A “pre killing my dog” photo shoot. cute,’ one person commented, while someone else asked: ‘A photo shoot while you were killing your dog???!! How is any of this okay??’
Nikki and her husband Dan elaborated on their decision in a YouTube video posted to her channel on Monday with the comments disabled
Tribute: Nikki became emotional and started to cry as she recounted ‘the way he smelled’ and ‘the thick fur on the back of his neck’ at the end of the video
Nikki and her husband Dan elaborated on their decision to euthanize Bowser in a YouTube video posted to her channel on Monday with the comments disabled.
The couple explained that Bowser was attacked as a puppy, which contributed to his aggressive nature, and he had ‘seriously injured a couple different dogs’ in the past, including their other dog, Zoe.
Nikki noted that they had considered euthanizing Bowser five years ago after a moment of ‘aggression.’
In the most recent incident, she said, Bowser bit Logan on the face after the toddler took food from him. They said that while the bite ‘wasn’t bad,’ their son still has a ‘little mark.’
She claimed they had consulted with a humane society about rehoming Bowser but was told that wasn’t an option for the dog, who had been with them for nearly a decade.
Looking back: Bowser had been with the couple for nine years before he was euthanized
What she said: Nikki claimed they had consulted with a humane society about rehoming Bowser but was told that wasn’t an option for the dog
Other pet: The couple also have a dog, Zoe, whom they claim Bowser was aggressive with
‘In some ways it’s been anticipated for a really long time, and in others, it was completely shocking,’ she said. ‘Never crossed my mind — “Oh, now we’re gonna have to put Bowser down” — I just thought, “Oh, he’s just gotta be in the right home.” But after getting counsel from multiple professionals who are with dogs all the time, all of them said that, they all said the same thing.’
Nikki concluded the video by reading ‘a list of things that I’ll never forget about Bowser’ while showing a montage of photos of the dog.
She became emotional and started to cry as she recounted ‘the way he smelled’ and ‘the thick fur on the back of his neck.’
While the comments on the video were disabled, that didn’t stop viewers from slamming Nikki on Twitter.
‘On today’s episode of influencers are the real pandemic… @NikkiPhillippi puts down her dog for biting her kid but not before she has a photoshoot with the dog inches away from the kid the dog allegedly bit and needs to be put down for. F**k you,’ one person tweeted.
Not going away: Critics took to Twitter to denounce the couple, who both made their Instagram pages private
‘I’m not going to watch the Nikki Phillippi video — but can someone tell me if they showed “proof” that the dog was euthanized?’ actress Meghan Rienks asked. ‘I’m having a hard time believing a vet would do that; and a way easier time believing they murdered him at home.’
YouTuber Lauren Riihimaki urged people to hold Nikki accountable, writing: ‘For 3 days, this story of @NikkiPhillippi unnecessarily euthanizing her bull terrier has truly shaken me to the core and makes me SICK. Please hold them accountable for this cruel decision and know that there are OTHER OPTIONS.’
Other Twitter users shared photos of Dan’s Instagram bio, claiming he had written ‘Dog Murderer (allegedly)’ before removing it.
‘Not @NikkiPhillippi husband putting “dog murderer(allegedly)” in his bio as if it’s some funny joke,’ one critic tweeted. ‘YOU DID KILL YOUR DOG! YOU HAD other options but you chose to murder your dog instead of taking the tile to find someone to help train the dog! Y’all are gross af…’
Both Nikki and Dan made their Instagram pages private in the wake of the ongoing criticism.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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