Lance Gross got quite the backlash over a picture of his son, Lennon Lorin Gross, that was meant to be positive.
The celebrity father uploaded a candid of Lennon to Instagram on Wednesday and commented on how excited he was to see “little man’s color is comin’ in nicely.” Lance was “hyped” about Lennon’s skin tone. His fans were not so thrilled about all of the excitement.
“He’s happy his son’s COLOR is coming in…. Mr. Colorism,” one critic wrote. “I guess it’s only cool that black men are dark skin and not black women cuz you wasn’t hoping for COLOR to come in for your Baby girl! Man hush up and act.” Really?
Thankfully, Lance had a lot of supporters in his corner who quieted the storm of trolls. “Such hate, bitterness, and straight up ignorance in the comments. Ridiculous and actually sad,” one of the actor’s fans said. Another defender wrote, “Forget the haters @lancegross I love u and ur babies they are both beautiful. Nothing wrong with celebrating ur son taking after u. Ur skin is one of kind smooth silky chocolate. I hope ur son looks just like u.”
Of course, Lance Gross didn’t let the folks who had so much to say about his adoration for his son slip through the cracks. He gave quite the lengthy response to the “haters.”
“Let me address this misconception,” Lance began. “Two things I’m proud of is the ability to smile through any situation and the rich melanin that layers my body. For my daughter or son to share that blessing makes me overjoyed. Miss me with the self-hate, ’cause those opinions and assumptions are invalid.”
Lance further explained, “I am a proud BLACK man that loves my African-American wife and that will remain. The simple minds of others don’t hold me when I need to be held, assist in raising my kids, and maintain a loving relationship and household.”
Lance certainly acknowledged that colorism is a thing in America but admonished the critics to consider all things before just throwing “every dark-skinned Black man who is in a relationship with someone [having] lighter complexion under that bus.”
Lance Gross and his wife, Rebecca, are the proud parents of two children, Lennon and Berkeley.
