The best way to fight fire is with funny Instagram comments. Well, that’s the approach Amy Schumer took to dealing with people who "mum shamed" her for performing a stand-up set two weeks after giving birth to her first child, a son named Gene Attell. People reported that the comedian, actress, and author received criticism for returning to work so soon after she posted on Instagram about her Sunday night show.
"Already???? That’s insane!!! And inhumane. Contract or not you need to be allowed at least 6 weeks for maternity [sic]," one comment read. People hit her with messages asking her to "take some time." One commenter asked: "Didn’t you birth a human like 5 minutes ago?" There were other comments that were rather gauche, referring to Schumer’s placenta. As we know, the internet is a scary place.
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Instead of responding directly to the hate, however, Schumer made jokes with her friends and other famous people who had commented, such as journalist Jessica Yellin. Yellin said that she "can only imagine what a pump room looks like at a comedy club." Schumer retorted: "Every room is a pump room if you put your mind to it."
Schumer’s friend, writer and producer Molly McNearney, who’s married to Jimmy Kimmel, wrote: "And … here comes the mum shaming … ughhhhhhhhhhh." Schumer wisecracked: "I’ve always wanted to be mom shamed!!!!" You can almost see her pantomiming along with the quip.
Jokes aside, putting down moms for their choices isn’t cool. Research from C.S. Mott Children's Hospital found that almost two-thirds of mums said they felt they'd been shamed for their parenting skills. Some of Schumer's followers didn't perpetuate this shame, and, instead, offered positive affirmations. "You can’t keep a good woman down!" one person wrote.
To this empathetic nod, Schumer said: "Oh no, you can’t."
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