As Hollywood's A-list celebrities were walking down the red carpet at this year's Academy Awards, a new Frida Mom postpartum ad was causing controversy for not being accepted to the party. ABC refused to show the commercial during their three-hour broadcast of the Oscars, saying it was "too graphic".
The clip shows a new mom during the first days after giving birth, facing the effects it has had on her body. There's the postpartum belly, the mesh underwear she received at the hospital, her problematic journey to the bathroom, and the pad she must wear as her body continues to bleed.
ABC explained their reasoning by citing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences guidelines: “Advertisement of the following is not permitted: Political candidates/positions, religious or faith-based message/position, guns, gun shows, ammunition, feminine hygiene products, adult diapers, condoms or hemorrhoid remedies.”
Parents, however, didn't buy it. Neither did Frida Mom. Appalled by the rejection, the company posted the ad on its social media accounts instead.
Frida Mom, a company that specializes in postpartum essentials stirred some controversy
Image credits: fridamom
Image credits: fridamom
Watch the full ad below
Image credits: fridamom
It depicted a new mom learning to deal with her new body, but it was too much for some
Image credits: fridamom
Image credits: fridamom
The decision has been denounced by celebrities and campaigners as well. Busy Phillips said the ad “accurately represents something millions of women know intimately”, in an Instagram post while expressing her disappointment that the Academy missed out on a good opportunity to normalize women’s bodies after pregnancy. “I’m so ... sick of living in a society where the act of simply BEING A WOMAN is rejected by the gatekeepers of media.”
Image credits: fridamom
Image credits: fridamom
Image credits: fridamom
Image credits: fridamom
Sonia Moghe, a producer in CNN's New York bureau, said the ad really hits home for her. "It's my first week back to work after being on maternity leave, and I wish I'd seen more honest depictions of what the hours and days after giving birth look like," she wrote.
Moghe pointed out that during the Oscars we see celebrities walking red carpets looking back to normal just months after giving birth. "We [also] see Kate Middleton appearing outside of the hospital where she has given birth to her three children, each time with perfectly styled hair and makeup while smiling and holding each of her babies. Let's also remember that Natalie Portman was late in her pregnancy phase when she came on stage to accept her Oscar. She was radiant," the producer continued. "But the truth is that hair and makeup are often the last things on a mom's mind in the days after she's given birth. She's often struggling just to care for herself and her baby in the most basic ways."
Image credits: fridamom
Image credits: fridamom
The Academy hasn't responded to the backlash yet.
Image credits: fridamom
Here's what people said about the issue
