Ice-T has leapt to the defence of his wife Coco Austin after she shared a picture of herself breastfeeding their three-year-old daughter.
The photo in question shows the almost four-year-old Chanel lying on her mum’s lap as she nurses her, leading her three million Instagram followers to criticise Coco for still breastfeeding her child at such a late stage.
Hubby Ice-T is having none of it though, asking what the ‘big deal’ is and saying his wife, 40, only breastfeeds Chanel occasionally so the two can feel close to each other.
PASpeaking to TMZ, the 61-year-old actor refuted the idea that this is a regular occurrence and criticised those who ‘make it out like the baby only breastfeeds’.
Ice-T, real name Tracy Lauren Marrow, explained:
Every once in a while, you know what I’m saying? If she wants to get close to her mum, what’s the big deal? She eats food, she eats fucking cheeseburgers.
The controversy started last week when Coco shared several pictures of her breastfeeding to her personal social media account.
The mum-of-one urged her followers to ‘normalise breastfeeding’ while referring to it as ‘a mother’s calling’, going on to say she was blessed to have this ‘unbelievable experience’ with her child.
The actor and glamour model explained in the caption how she had a difficult time breastfeeding in the week following Chanel’s birth, describing how she ‘almost gave up’. However, her family encouraged her to hang on for another week and she hasn’t looked back since.
Coco wrote:
They told me I dont [sic] want to miss this special moment you have with your child.. health wise and bond wise.. I hung in there and now almost 4 years later Chanel still wants the boob..
She went on to say what her husband had reiterated – that breastfeeding Chanel is ‘more of a comfort thing’ and that ‘of course’ she eats regular food.
The 40-year-old continued:
Nap time and night time are our time and I’m lucky she hasn’t grown out it yet [sic] because when that moment comes I will be so sad.. its [sic] the best feeling and ALL mothers that nurse know..
Although a number of fellow mums agreed with Coco’s decision to still breastfeed her daughter, many labelled the pictures as ‘disturbing’ and insisted little Chanel was too old to still be breastfed.
While one person said the mum was doing it for herself rather than her daughter, saying she ‘just cant let go’, another asked her to ‘stop forcing this behaviour’ on her child.
Others though, thanked Coco for sharing her breastfeeding journey and for using her platform to shed light on a ‘misunderstood topic’, describing breastfeeding as ‘the best thing for a child’.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).