A former contestant from “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise” caused a stir after posting a video of his son on social media. Michael Allio received support comments in response to his post, but a lot of people criticized him as well.
Here’s what you need to know:
Michael Allio Shared Video of His Son Sobbing
On March 9, Allio shared a video on his Instagram page. “He inspires me to be better,” the “Bachelorette” star wrote in the caption.
In the video, Allio noted his son was crying in the background and explained what happened. The two were playing soccer in the grass, and Allio scored a goal.
His son, James, was quite upset about his father scoring a goal. The video included several looks at James kicking the ball toward the goalposts. The first grader cried and wiped tears away from his eyes.
The “Bachelor in Paradise” alum said they had only played for about “10 seconds” when things went awry. James apparently was “furious” and told his dad never to talk to him again for the rest of his life.
“Didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to score a goal,” Allio said as he smiled and shook his head.
“You could post this and get your point across without posting your son…You shouldn’t post him. There is a 0 percent chance he would want that if he knew,” one franchise fan commented on Allio’s post.
‘The Bachelorette’ Star Reacted to the Fan Response
On May 10, Allio posted a follow-up video. He asked, “Do you let the kid win or do you put ’em in their place?”
The “Bachelor in Paradise” star noted his previous post stirred up a lot of opinions. He suggested it all boiled down to a difference between two parenting styles.
“The poor boy was crying real tears,” one person replied.
Someone else asked, “Shouldn’t we let them win at home?? Especially when they are little?? Shouldn’t we build them up and let them feel on top of the world considering in life they will rarely win?”
“You appear to be a wonderful father! James will love you and respect himself more if he earns the win with his peers,” suggested someone else.
“The real issue was posting him being so upset on Instagram. I am never amused watching a child be upset and I think he deserves more privacy and respect to go through these types of things without being put on blast,” noted a different commenter.
Allio Didn’t Appear Bothered by the Criticism
The comments continued, with a solid split between supporting Allio and criticizing him.
One follower asked, “You’re filming him while he cries?”
“Kids need to learn to deal with failure, or else they become unable to cope in life, full of anxiety, spoiled, angry, resentful, entitled, activists,” declared someone else.
“I feel bad that I’m laughing while he’s crying but this is just too good,” commented another follower.
Allio responded to some comments on the first post, and screenshots of them were shared in “The Bachelor” subreddit.
“Afterwards I scored five more haha,” read one of Allio’s responses. In another reply, Allio quipped he didn’t feel bad about the situation, either. “We gotta let em know!”
Someone else questioned Allio’s motives for posting the video of James crying. He replied, “Because I thought it was funny and he did too.”
“Posting a video of your son crying like is grosssssss…Children are people. They deserve the same respect that adults do,” a Redditor shared.
“Michael is not teaching his son that it’s okay to lose, he’s teaching his son that when his son does lose his son’s feelings don’t matter and his dad will laugh at him and post him crying to make fun of him and use him for public content,” wrote a different Redditor.
“Gross and cruel of him to post of son crying and using his child’s pain for content,” added someone else.
