Olympic snowboarding star Torah Bright is calling on moms to support one another after she received backlash for sharing a partially nude breastfeeding photo.
“Mothers, we need to encourage each other, lift each other up, pay each other compliments, support each other,” the Australian began in a video post on Instagram on Wednesday.
Despite feeling “a bit silly” for addressing the matter, Bright said she spoke out after there were “a lot of negative comments” from other mothers.
Torah Bright posted this breastfeeding photo on Instagram and Facebook.
“We need to be each other’s biggest cheerleaders because motherhood is so beautiful, but reality is, we are the only ones who know just how hard those moments are and we need to have each other’s back — not compare each other, and judge each other, because we all do things so differently and that’s why it’s so beautiful.”
Bright ended the clip, laughing, and asked, “But, did anyone really think that’s how I breastfed?”
Bright initially came under fire on social media after she posted a topless photo of herself in a headstand, while nursing her 10-month-old son, Flow. She welcomed her first child in July 2020 with husband Angus Thomson, who’s also a snowboarder, and the photo was meant to celebrate her first Mother’s Day.
Following the negative response, Bright said the comments made her “sad,” but noted that she has nothing but respect for all moms.
When the backlash escalated, Bright, a two-time gold medalist at the X Games, issued the video response.
“The photo was just a little bit of pure fun! Celebrating the bond between mother and child,” she explained in her caption. “I can understand how it’s not everyone’s taste, that’s fine. But from some of the negative feedback, what has struck me most is how we all, especially mothers need to support and up lift. Not judge a moment in time. Let’s find the village of motherhood to grow and support each other.
“Remember…our children learn from our example.”
