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A white dad is speaking out after he went viral for asking "Black TikTok" for advice on how to raise a Black baby he adopted.
In a now-deleted video, Will, a 36-year-old dad, was seen brushing his infant's hair while asking for help on how to care for her.
“We have adopted a Black baby, her name is Zoë and I don’t know what to do for her hair,” Will said in the video. “Please, any Black parents or anyone who knows what to do with Black children’s hair, please help me in the comments.”
The video faced widespread backlash as social media users accused Will and his husband of adopting a Black child solely for social media content.
"Did they not have Black friends they could talk to? Is Zoë just for show? Why didn’t they prepare to raise a Black child?" were among the questions social media users had for the couple.
“I could have the best intentions and still mess up,” Will told NBC News, noting that he regrets exposing his daughter “to the world in that way.”
“I’ve learned that I need to be very intentional about the community that surrounds us and her on a consistent basis and have people who look like her talk to her,” he added. “I want Zoë to grow up to love herself, that includes her personality, her skin color, her hair, everything.”
Will called the social media accusations "heartbreaking."
“People said I viewed her as a prop or accessory and not a human being, and that’s not the case at all,” the dad said. “That’s not how I view my daughter at all.”
Will claimed that he and his husband have had discussions about how race and racism will affect their daughter's life. The dad noted that he lives in a diverse neighborhood and is surrounded by friends who have given him advice on how to care for Zoë.
Will said he made the TikTok to seek additional help.
“I will continue to use every resource at my disposal to raise Zoë to be the best person she can be with the best parents we can be,” he said.
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