YouTuber Myka Stauffer sparks outrage by ‘rehoming’ adopted son with autism
YouTuber Myka Stauffer’s announcement that she and her husband are “rehoming” their adopted son has triggered vicious debate and a torrent of angry responses.
Huxley, who is autistic, was adopted from China in October 2017 in a story shared by Ms Stauffer on social media. She originally fundraised from her fans in order to pursue the adoption, and has since featured Huxley repeatedly on her platforms, including in branded content.
On Thursday morning, the couple release a seven-minute video to Ms Stauffer’s 700,000 YouTube followers, announcing the child is now with another family.
They said he had “special needs that we weren’t aware of,” adding “we’ve never wanted to be in this position… we truly love him.”
The news has been met with vicious criticism and attempts by followers to boycott the influencer’s sponsorship partners.
Imagine adopting a little boy from China who’s an orphan with special needs, taking him away from everything he knows, only to give him up and “rehome” him a few years later. Some of these YouTube families are actually shocking. #mykastauffer
— lily (@_lxlyevie)
What have social media followers said?
The influencer has built social followings in the hundreds of thousands by producing sponsored content about her life as a family- and home-maker.
Some critics have targeted her for using a child to build a lucrative brand and then giving him up.
Extremely depressed reading about the influencer who raised funds to adopt a son, made this her “brand,” discovered he has special needs, secretly rehomed him, blocked ppl asking about him (after her followers helped fund the adoption) & put out a video making herself the victim https://t.co/ekgeTWBpm5
— Sophie Ross (@SophRossss)
I can’t believe you @MykaStauffer
Huxley wasn’t a pet, and you brought him into your children’s lives. Then you ripped that from them. You never would’ve done that had he been your biological child. Horrible.— emily (@emilyopinions)
Others have picked up on sad ironies in her original posts.
@MykaStauffer imagine writing out these captions and not meaning a single word. You adopted him solely for the attention it would give you and now you’re giving him away. Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/68pfN1I2jP
— Not Nora (@ParticleSoop)
The recent announcement follows several months of silence on the re-adoption, during which time Ms Stauffer continued to post content with her four other children.
She has now updated her YouTube bio to read: “I’m Myka Stauffer, a Mommy of 4 from Ohio and Married to my best friend. I LOVE sharing videos about family life…”
The "happy family" display has provoked other commenters. One Instagram post from March, in which Ms Stauffer plays with her other son, now blares comments such as “WHERES THE OTHER SWEET BOY???” and “What you going to do if he shows signs of autism in years to come?”
✨🤍My sweet Boy 🤍✨ Giveaway winner was picked and dmed stay tuned for the next one 😘
A post shared by Myka Stauffer (@mykastauffer) on Mar 31, 2020 at 3:00pm PDT
Some of Ms Stauffers’ followers noticed the child’s absence early on, and began tagging her sponsors in boycott threats. Since the latest video, these have picked up.
A post shared by Myka Stauffer (@mykastauffer) on Mar 18, 2020 at 5:36pm PDT
Mr and Mrs Stauffer explained the delay in their announcement as a decision taken to “respect our son’s privacy”.
Ms Stauffer said she feared “messing up” legal procedures by posting too much information on her social media platforms about what happened with and to Huxley.
She added “it will never be appropriate” for her to share details of the “struggles” the family faced after the adoption, for Huxley’s own privacy.
“Just because I may be positive on my stories or having fun, doesn’t mean that I’m not still horribly hurting,” said the influencer in reference to her continuous content. “We are going to be heartbroken for a very long time.
A post shared by Myka Stauffer (@mykastauffer) on May 20, 2020 at 4:00pm PDT
Nevertheless, there have been voices of support.
At the start of their tearful announcement, the couple thanked some viewers for “kind and respectful” messages.
One comment from a follower, which has been pinned by Ms Stauffer, reads: “I was adopted at 8 months old, my sister at about 14 months from China… I respect you so much for having the courage to make such a heartbreaking and hard decision. You are such great parents, you have to do what’s right for him first and foremost.”
The intense sensitivity of the subject was highlighted by another commenter, a woman who was herself adopted from Korea at the age of two:
“I have albinism and I came with a lot of emotional struggles,” she wrote.
“It's sad all the way around. I'm 42 now and I still don’t have a sense of identity or feeling like I belong. It's sad for both the adoptee and adopting family involved. But God is faithful and because if that, I'm here today.”