Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@ambslund
Topics: Parenting, Social media
Callum Jones
A mum has responded to the backlash she's received online after video of her hugging her teenage son after his football game went viral.
There is nothing new about excited parents celebrating on the side of a sports pitch when their child does well, and a hug between child and parent is often seen countless times.
However, Utah mum, Amber Wright, faced some criticism after she hugged her 16-year-old son, Brixton, after his team won a home game by throwing her arms and legs around him.
Posting the clip on Instagram, she wrote: "This boy will forever and always have my entire heart. Gina captured the end of this moment, and I’m SO grateful.
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"When I walked up to hug my baby boy after his game, he immediately picked me up and just held me. It may have been 20 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute, I have no idea. But in this moment, time stood completely still.
"I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve you @brix_wright but I am thankful every second of every single day for you."
However, comments questioning their relationship began to flood her video comment section.
Taking to Instagram today (18 September), Amber made it very clear that the video show 'literally a hug' between herself and her son.
"If you're one of the people that happens to see something immoral or sexual or wrong with it then I'm just going to say that's on you," Amber continued.
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She described some of the responses to the video of the hug as 'disgraceful', 'disrespectful' and 'crude', but made it clear she was 'not going to take [the video] down'.
"I didn't do anything wrong," the mum added.
She added that she had received some 'positive' and 'supportive' comments, but overall, she said that 'we just have to do better as a society' and 'we should all be kind to each other'.
"We live in a society where we're trying to teach our kids not to bully and we're preaching that we all should love one another [...] it just seems very hypocritical...," she said.
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Amber had previously told TODAY that the video was captured because Brixton had worn a football jersey featuring his late father's death date, 4 April, on the field for the first time.
She said: "One of my best friends recorded the moment where Brix picked me up and I thought it was so cute.
"I was so proud. I was a proud mom hugging her kid. I never expected it to turn into something where people are like, ‘You’re sexually abusing him! You're grooming him! I’m calling child protective services'."
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She said that she comes 'from a very affectionate family', adding: "I hug my dad every time I see him."
Brixton also took to Instagram to defend his mum, saying: "How abt you leave my mom alone. She’s never abused me done anything sexual with me or my friends or groomed me.
"She’s my mom she is my hero the vid of us hugging was a HUG. Go bother someone else and maybe hug your own kids.
"You all need Jesus damn."