Just when you thought the internet had enough to be mad about, a celebrity has managed to spark yet another controversy for merely giving the people what they want: an inside look into their private lives. Granted, the celebrity was Chrissy Teigen, and the “inside look” was of her in her bathtub, but still. There are people that are dying, you know?
Anyway! ICYMI, on February 9, Teigen shared a pic of herself soaking in a tub on Instagram. Instant outrage. Odd, considering she’s literally a Sports Illustrated model who has been more naked on magazine covers than she is in this photo — but I digress.
The reason for the metaphorical grabbing of virtual pitchforks wasn’t just that Teigen dared to post a bath pic — it was that she wasn’t alone. Mere minutes after posting, the comment section was flooded with people stumbling over themselves to declare how messed up the picture, the act, and Chrissy herself were.
Of course, Teigen is no stranger to the notion that her mere existence — and posting about it — pisses people off. As a mom (and a celebrity one, at that), she exists in the fun space where everything she does is scrutinized, criticized, and turned into a full-blown moral debate.
But since I, too, would rather argue about whether a celebrity’s Instagram post is problematic instead of focusing on actual real-world issues, here we are. Let’s unpack this one together, shall we?
What’s Actually Happening in the Pic?
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Let’s take a deep breath and assess the actual situation before going full social outrage mode. Chrissy Teigen is in the bathtub with three of her four kids — Miles (6), Esti (2), and Wren (18 months). Meanwhile, her oldest, Luna (7), was presumably off doing literally anything else. The water is milky, the lighting is soft, and overall, it looks like the kind of peaceful, aesthetically pleasing moment that only exists for the 0.2 seconds it takes to snap a photo before chaos ensues.
The picture in question wasn’t even a standalone post — it was part of a carousel of totally random, everyday life moments, including selfies, videos of her kids playing, and shots of her cookbook prep. It also includes a glimpse of Miles’ insulin pump, something the Teigen-Legend fam has been open about since his type 1 diabetes diagnosis. If anything, it’s a nod of representation for kids growing up with medical devices — proof that it’s just another normal part of life, not something to hide.
The caption? Simply: “BAHHHHHHHHHHH.” You know, a perfectly vague and uninspired option since our mom brains literally don’t work well enough to string together clever captions anymore. No shade to Chrissy — it’s just a fact.
Teigen later clarified that she added some coconut milk to the bath, presumably to make the whole thing feel more soothing. But aside from the murky water, there’s nothing particularly shocking, nothing overly curated, and certainly nothing designed to invite controversy. It’s just a mom in the bath with her kids — which, if you’ve ever been around small children, is not the picture of serenity people are making it out to be.
But, of course, outrage culture lives for turning completely normal parenting moments into moral crises. And this one? This one sent people spiraling.
Why Are People Pissed?
Ah, the internet — where no parenting moment is too small to become a full-blown scandal. The outrage over Chrissy Teigen’s Bath Photo™ seems to fall into two main categories: the think of the children camp and the why would you bathe with your kids crowd.
First, the privacy argument. A certain subset of people believe that posting any photos of children online is a violation of their autonomy (hello, people who put emojis over their babies’ faces), and while that’s a totally fair conversation to have, the energy always seems to get misdirected. Like, sure, let’s talk about the ethics of sharing images of kids on social media — but is this really the hill to die on? A casual, non-revealing bath photo of a woman who has spent her entire career oversharing? If we’re going to have this conversation, maybe we should start with actually exploitative family vloggers who treat their kids like content machines instead of coming for a woman who just… posted a completely normal parenting moment.
Sure, it raises the question: Is posting your kids unethical? Eh, maybe. Probably, honestly. But it’s the world we live in, and for every parent against having shots of their kids online, there are 10 others posting reels with their offspring, hoping to make it big.
Ethics aside, the other concern with the photo comes from the it’s just weird crowd. Some people seem genuinely horrified at the idea of a mother taking a bath with her own children as if she plopped them into a hot tub full of vodka Red Bulls instead of, you know, a bathtub. There’s a lot of pearl-clutching about how kids need boundaries and privacy, which, yes, obviously. But have these people ever met a toddler? Because if you have a young child and have ever tried to take a bath, shower, or even breathe alone, you know that privacy is a luxury reserved for people without tiny, clingy humans who don’t understand personal space.
As a mother of two, I’ll be the first to admit my toddler is the handsiest guy I know. He legit grabs my nipple and says, “baby” (because, yes, that’s how I feed my newborn), so, like… boundaries aren’t a thing!
Ultimately, the outrage feels like a mix of projection, performative concern, and people just looking for something to be mad about. Because let’s be honest — if it wasn’t this, it would be something else.
The Verdict
Look, is it a little weird? Maybe. But so is most of parenting. Chrissy Teigen quite literally birthed two out of the three kids, feeds them, wipes their asses, and probably had to entertain them while sitting on the toilet at some point that day. So, if multitasking by taking a bath together is what made sense in the moment, it’s probably the least weird thing that happened in their house that day. If this were a tub with her kids in 10 years? Sure, then I’d be a little more likely to call Child Protective Services.
The internet, however, loves turning completely mundane parenting moments into moral crises. If it wasn’t this, it would be something else — because there is nothing people love more than finding a reason to be mad at a mom.
In usual Chrissy fashion, she casually responded by saying, “It’s a coconut milk bath for sensitive skin but go off.” Mom-shamers be damned. Pretty sure an international supermodel, entrepreneur, and mother of four has bigger things to worry about, tbh.
At the end of the day, this is not that deep. If you wouldn’t take a bath with your young kids? Cool, don’t do it. If you would? Great, enjoy your lukewarm, pee-filled tub water. Either way, it’s not worth the outrage. Let’s save the discourse for something that actually matters — like whether tattooless Pete Davidson gives boyfriend vibes or Rodent Boy tendencies. Priorities, people.
