Tori Spelling sent her four oldest kids off to their first day of school on September 4 with an adorable "first day" photo shoot.
She shared the image on Instagram with the sweet caption: "School officially began today for my four older kiddos… This marks the first year that they’ll all be in the same school at the same time. You know what that means? For one year and one year only, ONLY 1 drop off = Happy Mom. And Finn started Kindergarten at his new school and felt so proud to be at his big boy school with his older brother and sisters."
Even though Tori is a celebrity, her post and her kids seem refreshingly normal. It's always nice to see the ways in which famous people are just like you and me! Plus, Tori's kids looked adorable.
Unfortunately, some unkind people didn't think the post was all that cute — and they weren't shy about voicing their opinions in the comments.
Instagram trolls flooded the comments to shame the family.
Mean-spirited mommy-shamers commented on the photo to say that the kids looked disheveled and overweight.
One troll wrote that the kids are "chubby and disheveled" and blamed the parents.
"All of them are overweight," claimed another.
Commenters with no insight into Tori and her family's life somehow had the audacity to critique her kids and tell her how to raise them.
Some people were particularly scandalized over one of the kids appearing to have hair that was still slightly damp from the shower.
FYI, it's currently 100 degrees in Los Angeles — so just about everyone leaves their houses with wet hair here!
Thankfully, Tori had a lot of supporters who came to her defense.
"You know what? To me, they look like normal happy kids," wrote one kind commenter, who wished Tori and her fam a happy first day of school.
One lovely fan apologized on behalf of the people who said cruel things.
Another fan called out the disconnect between celebrity children and nonfamous kids, criticizing people for expecting kids to "dress like little business people."
Finally, Tori swooped in and delivered an epic clap-back to the haters.
"I am a proud mama bear and I enjoy sharing our family journey with my family, friends, fans and online supportive and loyal community,” Tori commented on her post.
“For all the individuals on here that felt the need to #momshame and #kidshame me and my children I say 'Shame on you!' I was raised to believe that if you can’t say anything nice about someone, then don’t say anything at all,” she continued.
Tori ended her perfect and measured response by urging kindness rather than cruelty.
"Lift others up and you in turn lift yourself up #endcyberbullying," she concluded.
Sadly, this isn't the first time Tori has dealt with mom-shaming.
In 2017, she was criticized for letting her then 9-year-old daughter Stella wear lipstick to Thanksgiving dinner.
The hypocrisy in mommy-shaming is ridiculous.
Tori's children are either criticized for being disheveled or for growing up too fast — it seems there's no way for her to win here.
At the end of the day, all that matters is that Tori and her family are happy.
The reality star wrote on Instagram earlier this year that her five kids all get along and "genuinely love each other’s company." That family love is greater than any noise from online busybodies!
Ignore the haters, Tori! Keep on enjoying life with your beautiful family.
